Government Needs to Understand Plight of Russian Science

Sunday, September 15, 2019

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The political leadership of the country must be made aware of the dramatic plight of Russian science, and substantial changes need to be made in the relationship between the government and scientific cadres in general, and with scientists in particular, according to Russian Nobel laureate Zhores Alferov. Alferov made the remarks at a Thursday union meeting of scientific cadres at the St. Petersburg scientific center RAN. During the conference, it was noted that the average salary for members of academic institutions, including bonuses and grants, was slightly more than 4,000 rubles per month, whereas at the library of the Academy of Sciences, it was 2,530 rubles per month. RAN is a federal institution, and when the government of St. Petersburg decides to raise the salaries of city employees, a mass exodus will begin from academic institutions, and above all of young people. That threatens RAN with an irreversible loss of scientific educational institutions. The meeting addressed the presidium of RAN with a request to conduct an immediate effort to establish a modern juridical status for RAN, including the inclusion of a clause on government academies in the Russian Civil Code, to take immediate measures to overcome the crisis involving scientific cadres, to realize the decisions of the Council on Science and High Technology established by the Russian president, to raise the salaries of RAN workers to the average national level for industry, and to maintain scientific bonuses upon retirement.

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