Prospects of Russian science

While awarding young scientists with 2016 President Prize in Science and Innovation during the Day of Russian Science, Vladimir Putin said that the importance of this holiday goes beyond scientific community. Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development of Russia was approved in the end of last year, it defined the main priorities in the field of scientific research and gaven the task for fundamental science. 

"This task is a search for answers to the so-called global challenges of the future. It is important for young researchers to also be actively involved in this work. Strategy pays a lot of attention to their support. Russian Research Foundation is currently developing a special program for this purpose. It was designed to ensure that talented, highly educated people could fully realize their potential in their home country, in Russia," Putin said.

Meanwhile, according to President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Vladimir Fortov, the Academy of Sciences is the highest scientific institution of the country for nearly 300 years. It brought together the best scientists in all fields of modern science and technologies: "If you look at how many scientists we have at the Academy Sciences, its somewhere around 14-16% of the total number of scientists in Russia. It's a small number, but it provides 60% of all scientific publications, which are cited internationally and make up the "golden fund" of world science. If you take the number of most cited scientists in our country today, around 55-60% of them are academicians or corresponding members of the RAS."

According to Fortov, the RAS is in a difficult position for the past three years: "This difficult position is dictated by the reform. The reform was designed to increase the progressiveness of scientific researches, make them more adequate, more helpful for our country. It's a very difficult task, because nobody in the world knows how to make a creative person work. He must have inner motivation. But we must create necessary working conditions for him. That is why Federal Agency for Scientific Organisations wants to take non-core functions from scientists to make their work more efficient."