Academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the list of which is growing every year, are the holders of the highest status in domestic science. A citizen of the Russian Federation who publishes scientific works of great public importance in various fields of knowledge can count on the title of academician. As of 2017, there are almost a thousand RAS academicians in Russia, 932 to be precise. According to the charter, their main and only goal is to enrich science with their achievements.
How to become an academician?
In 2012 he became a Doctor of Science. His research interests also include electron beam cooling, beam generation, storage rings, and object-oriented programming.
Academician at 32 years old
Before anyone else alive, another physicist received the title - Alexander Nikolaevich Skrinsky. He was born in Orenburg in 1936.
He worked on experimental problems and studied accelerators and high-energy physics. With his participation, the latest types of colliders were developed and created. Since 1968, corresponding member. At that time he was only 32 years old. Two years later he received the title “Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences”.
Subsequently, he developed a method for electron cooling and detection of polarized beams. He played a decisive role in the development of applied physics, as well as in the creation of the latest types of lasers and beam technologies.
Physiologist-academician
In 2016, full members of the RAS accepted physiologist Lev Girshevich Magazanik into their ranks. To receive an honorary title at such an age is a kind of record, at least among living academicians.
Lev Girshevich was born in Odessa in 1931. His areas of scientific research include the functioning of ion channels and the effects of neurotoxins on various types and types of receptors. Among his inventions are unique instruments that made it possible to study the organization of molecules in membranes.
The store conducted joint research with foreign scientists around the world - in France, Switzerland, Great Britain, and Germany. The result of his work was the creation of new drugs that help establish interaction between neurons in healthy and sick people
Doctors among academicians
Academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences are currently elected in 12 departments and sections. Medicine occupies one of the key places on this list. The majority of academics here are women. One of them is obstetrician-gynecologist Leila Vladimirovna Adamyan.
She was born in Tbilisi. She received her education in Moscow. From 1989 to the present day, he has headed the department of operative gynecology at the corresponding research institute. In 2004 she was awarded the title of academician.
Leyla Adamyan is famous for her perfect command of all types of gynecological operations known to science today. The objects of her research are the use of x-rays in reproductive medicine. He works a lot on the treatment of pregnant women and children.
Thanks to it, modern surgical technologies are used today, which have made it possible to at least halve the severity and consequences of adhesions that occur after gynecological operations.
Academic mathematicians
Another area of knowledge that is traditionally preferred by academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the list of which is subsequently replenished, is mathematics.
Nowadays, one of the most famous scientists in this field is Ludwig Dmitrievich Faddeev, who became a member of the RAS back in 1976. He specializes in the field of mathematical physics.
Most of his works and research are devoted to solving three-body problems in quantum mechanics. In modern science, this problem is known by its name - the Faddeev equation. He also works on the Schrödinger equation. He is the author of two hundred scientific works and monographs.
They can be proud that RAS is among them. Mathematicians devote a lot of time to theoretical work, but it is often appreciated. In 2008, Ludwig Faddeev received the Shao Prize in Hong Kong, awarded annually to the best scientific minds in the world. He received the award in the “Mathematics” category with another compatriot Vladimir Arnold. Their contribution to the popularization of mathematical physics was appreciated.
wrote in July of this year. Then a source in the Russian Academy of Sciences said that there was a decision by President Vladimir Putin to ban officials from participating in elections to the Academy of Sciences. On November 23, at a meeting of the Council for Science and Education, Vladimir Putin indicated to officials and employees of state-owned companies who were elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences a possible change of job, since they did not listen to his words. As the president emphasized, he personally gave recommendations not to be elected to the RAS in writing in October last year.
We are talking, first of all, about the heads of federal authorities, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as the heads of state corporations, state-owned companies and joint-stock companies with state participation and their deputies. At a meeting of the Council, Vladimir Putin demanded an explanation from the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Fortov.
In all likelihood, the current Minister of Health of the Perm Territory Olga Kovtun, the director of the department of science, innovative development and management of medical and biological health risks of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Sergei Rumyantsev, the head of the main medical department of the Presidential Administration Konstantin Kotenko, the head of the main military medical Directorate (GVMU) of the Ministry of Defense Alexander Fisun, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation - Head of the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Alexander Savenkov and Head of the Directorate of Registration and Archival Funds (URAF) of the FSB of the Russian Federation Vasily Khristoforov.
Initially, the meeting of the Council was devoted to discussing the draft strategy for scientific and technological development of Russia. The head of state stated the importance of scientific progress for the country, that it is impossible to save on fundamental science in order to prevent the Russian Federation from falling behind other countries. There was a calm, constructive conversation, there were no arguments. But after everyone had spoken, Vladimir Putin raised the personnel issue. And he reminded officials, representatives of law enforcement agencies and employees of state-owned companies of his request not to participate in the RAS elections.
– However, some colleagues from the Presidential Administration, from the Ministry of Education, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from the Ministry of Defense, from the Federal Security Service, and from some other departments took part in the election and were elected. Vladimir Evgenievich, I have a question for you and other representatives of the Academy of Sciences, why did you do this? Are they such great scientists that the Academy of Sciences cannot do without them? This is the first question. And the second question: what should I do with this now? – Putin asked the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Fortov.
“They all said that they received permission from their leaders,” Fortov tried to justify himself. However, the president was not satisfied with the answer.
- No, that was not the question. Are they such great scientists that they should be corresponding members and academicians? – Putin clarified.
Fortov replied that these citizens went through the entire election procedure without violations and were worthy to join the RAS. After which the president said: “I think I should give them the opportunity to do science. Because, apparently, their scientific activity is much more important than the performance of some routine administrative duties in government and government bodies.”
After the meeting, the president explained to reporters that if a person is successful in science, it is unlikely that he can devote much time to this area, holding an important government position. The head of state explained that his words concern a variety of government officials, including the governor’s corps.
– If someone thought that it was more important for him to engage in research activities, then, apparently, these are major scientists and with their work in this area they will bring much greater benefit to the country and society, as I already said, than by performing routine functions in management authorities through government agencies. This is an obvious thing. Therefore, they apparently chose creative, research work for themselves, and I want to wish them success,” Vladimir Putin said sarcastically.
As Izvestia wrote in the summer, the purpose of such a presidential decision is to give the opportunity for growth to those who are closely involved in science, and to protect them from the need to compete with officials with their administrative resources.
At the October elections, in particular, Senator Arnold Tulokhonov, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Head of the Investigation Department Alexander Savenkov, Head of the Registration and Archive Funds Department of the FSB of the Russian Federation Vasily Khristoforov, and Deputy Director for Science of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Igor Sheremet became academicians or corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
As Arnold Tulokhonov previously reported to Izvestia, “his scientific work complements his senatorial duties.”
I am nominated by the Baikal Institute of Environmental Management of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where I am the scientific director. I need this because it is a degree of scientific qualification that is necessary for the development of science as a whole. I have about 400 works in the field of political geography, which I am now working on as a member of the Federation Council and a specialist in the field of geography,” Arnold Tulokhonov told Izvestia in July of this year.
On Wednesday, after the scandal erupted, Senator Arnold Tulokhonov told Izvestia that he completely agreed with the head of state.
– The President is absolutely right; officials should under no circumstances be allowed into science. If a person wants a candidate’s thesis, let him defend it, but a doctorate and other scientific research require a lot of time, and officials should not have and do not have this time. Either this or that. This system has been around since the 90s, and when I talk to people, I always ask for the year of the PhD. If after 1990, then with rare exceptions, I don’t trust the person. We have a lot of people who got into science through their positions,” the senator explained.
Tulokhonov does not consider his election to the RAS a violation of ethical or other standards.
– The legislation states that the legislative branch has the right to engage in educational and scientific activities. The president’s criticism applies to officials - representatives of the civil service, executive authorities,” said the senator. “In relation to myself, I can say that my specialty helps me a lot in my work.” As a Member of the Academy, as a geographer by training, I prepare laws on the Arctic, on the Far East, and as a specialist I see problems that officials cannot understand. And being involved in political geography as a member of the International Affairs Committee, I work a lot on developing relations with Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China. There are two elected academicians in our parliament - Zhores Alferov in the State Duma and me in the Federation Council. There are two more - Vladimir Kashin and Gennady Onishchenko. But Kashin came from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Onishchenko from the Academy of Medical Sciences. They became academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a result of reforms that united the three academies into one.
Arnold Tulokhonov emphasized that “the law does not have retroactive force, and those elected will be academicians and corresponding members” and “it is the president’s right to relieve one of the officials from an official position. Some comply, some don’t.”
Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Andrei Klishas, who also applied for the title of corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but was not elected, did not rule out his participation in the next elections.
“When new elections to the Russian Academy of Sciences are announced, then I will make a decision,” the parliamentarian told Izvestia.
The list of candidates for academicianship of the Russian Academy of Sciences also included Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova, who has been a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 2004. However, according to Izvestia’s sources in the Russian Academy of Sciences, Veronika Skvortsova withdrew her candidacy long before the elections.
As Oleg Salagai, director of the Department of Public Health and Communications of the Russian Ministry of Health, told Izvestia, “Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova did not take part in the elections to academicianship of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2016.”
“Veronica Igorevna is a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, whom she was elected long before entering the public service,” explained Oleg Salagay.
Izvestia asked the press secretary of the head of state, Dmitry Peskov, whether academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences holding various positions in government agencies have a chance to remain in their positions. Peskov replied that there is no clarity on this issue yet.
Department of Mathematical Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Kislyakov Sergey Vitalievich (specialty - mathematics)
Matveev Sergey Vladimirovich (mathematics)
Konyagin Sergey Vladimirovich (mathematics)*
Treshev Dmitry Valerievich (mathematics)*
Rudakov Konstantin Vladimirovich (applied mathematics and computer science)
Tyrtyshnikov Evgeniy Evgenievich (applied mathematics and computer science)
Kholodov Alexander Sergeevich (applied mathematics and computer science)
Guzev Mikhail Aleksandrovich (applied mathematics and computer science)
For a vacancy for the Siberian Branch of Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences
For a vacancy for the Siberian Branch of Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Goncharov Sergey Savostyanovich (mathematics, including mathematical logic and theory of algorithms)
Department of Physical Sciences RAS
Balega Yuri Yurievich (specialty - physics and astronomy)
Zabrodsky Andrey Georgievich (physics and astronomy)
Kuznetsov Evgeniy Aleksandrovich (physics and astronomy)
Sergeev Alexander Mikhailovich (physics and astronomy)
Brazhkin Vadim Veniaminovich (physics and astronomy)*
Kukushkin Igor Vladimirovich (physics and astronomy)*
Danilov Mikhail Vladimirovich (nuclear physics)
Neznamov Vasily Petrovich (nuclear physics)
Parkhomchuk Vasily Vasilievich (nuclear physics)
Ponomarev Leonid Ivanovich (nuclear physics)
Sharkov Boris Yurievich (nuclear physics)
Tkachev Igor Ivanovich (nuclear physics)*
Trubnikov Grigory Vladimirovich (nuclear physics)*
For vacancies for the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Ratakhin Nikolay Aleksandrovich (physics)
Logachev Pavel Vladimirovich (nuclear physics)
Yalandin Mikhail Ivanovich (physics)*
Mushnikov Nikolay Varfolomeevich (physics of magnetic phenomena)*
Department of Nanotechnologies and Information Technologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Soifer Viktor Aleksandrovich (optical systems and computer science)
Popkov Yuri Solomonovich (information technologies in control systems)
Chaplygin Yuri Aleksandrovich (computing, location, telecommunication systems and element base)
Saurov Alexander Nikolaevich (nanotechnologies in microelectronics and microsystem technology)
Dubina Mikhail Vladimirovich (nanobiotechnology)
Konov Vitaly Ivanovich (nanotechnology)
Latyshev Alexander Vasilievich (element base, nanodiagnostics)
Department of Energy, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics and Control Processes RAS
Bolshov Leonid Aleksandrovich (nuclear energy)
Filippov Sergey Petrovich (energy)*
Klimenko Alexander Viktorovich (thermal physics)
Petrov Oleg Fedorovich (thermal physics)*
Son Eduard Evgenievich (electrophysics)
Garanin Sergey Grigorievich (electrophysics)*
Vasiliev Valery Vitalievich (mechanics)
Surzhikov Sergey Timofeevich (mechanics)
Aleshin Boris Sergeevich (control processes, mechanical engineering)
Chernyshev Sergey Leonidovich (control processes, mechanical engineering)
Zheltov Sergey Yurievich (control processes, mechanical engineering)*
Kalyaev Igor Anatolyevich (control processes, mechanical engineering)* Yakushenko Evgeniy Ivanovich (control processes, mechanical engineering)*
Alekseenko Sergey Vladimirovich (thermal physics)
Predtechensky Mikhail Rudolfovich (mechanical engineering)
Degtyar Vladimir Grigorievich (mechanical engineering)
Department of Chemistry and Materials Sciences RAS
Milekhin Yuri Mikhailovich (technical chemistry)
Dedov Alexey Georgievich (chemistry and technology of neoganic materials)
Boinovich Lyudmila Borisovna (chemistry and technology of neoganic materials)
Grechnikov Fedor Vasilievich (chemistry and technology of neoganic materials)*
Lysak Vladimir Ilyich (structural materials)
Rudskoy Andrey Ivanovich (structural materials)
Meshalkin Valery Pavlovich (chemical technology)
For vacancies for the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Ovcharenko Viktor Ivanovich (chemistry)
Bukhtiyarov Valery Ivanovich (chemistry)*
Kozhevnikov Viktor Leonidovich (chemistry)
Department of Biological Sciences RAS
Gabibov Alexander Gabibovich (physical and chemical biology)
Nedospasov Sergey Arturovich (physical and chemical biology)
Dontsova Olga Anatolyevna (physical and chemical biology)*
Rozhnov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (ecology)
Yankovsky Nikolay Kazimirovich (genetics)
Lopatin Alexey Vladimirovich (general biology)*
Pugachev Oleg Nikolaevich (zoology)
Rozhnov Sergey Vladimirovich (paleontology)
For a vacancy for the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Ivshina Irina Borisovna (microbiology)
Department of Earth Sciences RAS
Vernikovsky Valery Arnoldovich (geology)
Artyushkov Evgeniy Viktorovich (geophysics)
Sobolev Alexander Vladimirovich (geochemistry)
Weisberg Leonid Abramovich (mining sciences, geoecology)
Mokhov Igor Ivanovich (atmospheric physics)
Tulokhonov Arnold Kirillovich (geography, water resources)
Ivanov Vitaly Alexandrovich (oceanology)
Dolgikh Grigory Ivanovich (oceanology)
For a vacancy for the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Ermilov Oleg Mikhailovich (geology and development of gas fields)
For a vacancy for the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Chibilev Alexander Alexandrovich (geography)
Department of Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Porfiryev Boris Nikolaevich (economics)
Smirnov Andrey Vadimovich (philosophy)*
Zhuravlev Anatoly Laktionovich (psychology)
Department of Historical and Philological Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Medvedev Igor Pavlovich (history)
Piotrovsky Mikhail Borisovich (history)
Buzhilova Alexandra Petrovna (history)
Anikin Alexander Evgenievich (history)
Tolstaya Svetlana Mikhailovna (philology)
Plungyan Vladimir Aleksandrovich (philology)
For a vacancy for the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Bazarov Boris Vandanovich (history, oriental studies)*
Department of Global Problems and International Relations RAS
Mikheev Vasily Vasilievich (world economy)
Chufrin Gennady Illarionovich (world economy)
Naumkin Vitaly Vyacheslavovich (international relations, Arabic studies)
Department of Physiological Sciences RAS
Magazanik Lev Girshevich (physiology)
Medvedev Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich (physiology)
Ioseliani David Georgievich (fundamental medicine)
Orlov Oleg Igorevich (fundamental medicine)*
Department of Agricultural Sciences RAS
Semin Alexander Nikolaevich (economics and agricultural management)
Paptsov Andrey Gennadievich (economics and agricultural management)*
Dolgushkin Nikolay Kuzmich (economics of land relations and social development of rural areas)
Zakshevsky Vasily Georgievich (economics of land relations and social development of rural areas)*
Zavalin Alexey Anatolyevich (general agriculture)
Sheudzhen Askhad Khazretovich (general agriculture)
Turusov Viktor Ivanovich (general agriculture)*
Borodychev Viktor Vladimirovich (melioration and water management)
Egorov Viktor Nikolaevich (melioration and water management)
Rulev Alexander Sergeevich (forestry)
Alabushev Andrey Vasilievich (plant growing)
Egorov Evgeniy Alekseevich (plant growing)
Sinegovskaya Valentina Timofeevna (plant growing)
Batalova Galina Arkadyevna (plant growing)*
Goncharov Nikolay Petrovich (plant growing*
Kosolapov Vladimir Mikhailovich (plant growing*
Ryndin Alexey Vladimirovich (plant growing)*
Afanasenko Olga Silvestrovna (plant protection and biotechnology)
Vlasenko Natalia Georgievna (plant protection and biotechnology)
Karakotov Salis Dobaevich (plant protection and biotechnology)
Kocish Ivan Ivanovich (animal science)
Trukhachev Vladimir Ivanovich (animal science)
Tyapugin Evgeniy Aleksandrovich (animal science)*
Dorozhkin Vasily Ivanovich (veterinary medicine)
Javadov Eduard Javadovich (veterinary medicine)*
Klimenko Alexander Ivanovich (veterinary medicine)*
Stekolnikov Anatoly Alexandrovich (veterinary medicine)*
Fedorenko Vyacheslav Filippovich (mechanization and automation of agricultural production)
Ivanov Yuri Anatolyevich (mechanization and automation of agricultural production)
Viktor Valentinovich Alt (electrification of agriculture)
Avidzba Anatoly Mkanovich (storage and processing of agricultural products)
Petrov Andrey Nikolaevich (storage and processing of agricultural products)
Rimareva Lyubov Vyacheslavovna (veterinary medicine)*
Department of Medical Sciences RAS
Sidorova Iraida Stepanovna (obstetrics and gynecology)
Kurtser Mark Arkadievich (obstetrics and gynecology)
Polushin Yuri Sergeevich (anesthesiology and resuscitation)
Mayev Igor Veniaminovich (gastroenterology)*
Baindurashvili Alexey Georgievich (pediatric traumatology and orthopedics)
Peterkova Valentina Aleksandrovna (pediatric endocrinology)
Golukhova Elena Zelikovna (cardiology)*
Chazova Irina Evgenievna (cardiology)*
Khubulava Gennady Grigorievich (cardiac surgery)*
Romanov Alexander Ivanovich (clinical rehabilitation)
Lyadov Konstantin Viktorovich (clinical rehabilitation)*
Reshetov Igor Vladimirovich (microsurgery)*
Piradov Mikhail Alexandrovich (neurology)*
Pronin Igor Nikolaevich (neuroradiology)*
Shcherbuk Yuri Aleksandrovich (neurosurgery)
Poddubnaya Irina Vladimirovna (oncohematology)
Ashrafyan Levon Andreevich (oncogynecology)
Dolgushin Boris Ivanovich (oncoradiology)
Kaprin Andrey Dmitrievich (oncoradiology)*
Yanov Yuri Konstantinovich (otorhinolaryngology)
Namazova-Baranova Leila Seymurovna (pediatrics)*
Gavrilenko Alexander Vasilievich (vascular surgery)
Weber Viktor Robertovich (therapy)
Porkhanov Vladimir Alekseevich (thoracic surgery)
Khubutia Mogeli Shalvovich (transplantology and artificial organs)
Laurent Oleg Borisovich (urology)
Glybochko Petr Vitalievich (urology)*
Kamalov Armais Albertovich (urology-andrology)*
Kulakov Anatoly Alekseevich (maxillofacial surgery)
Shestakova Marina Vladimirovna (endocrinology)*
Bogolepova Irina Nikolaevna (histology)
Karaulov Alexander Viktorovich (clinical immunology)
Lisitsa Andrey Valerievich (medical proteomics)*
Govorun Vadim Markovich (physical and chemical medicine)*
Beregovykh Valery Vasilievich (pharmacy)
Totolyan Areg Artemovich (infectious immunology)*
Dyatlov Ivan Alekseevich (medical microbiology)*
Solodkiy Vladimir Alekseevich (public health and healthcare)
Akimkin Vasily Gennadievich (epidemiology)*
For a vacancy for the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Kolosov Viktor Pavlovich (pulmonology)
For vacancies for the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Popov Sergey Valentinovich (cardiology)*
Bokhan Nikolay Alexandrovich (narcology)*
Voevoda Mikhail Ivanovich Medical (genetics)
Kolesnikova Lyubov Ilyinichna (general pathology)
For vacancies for the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Medvedeva Irina Vasilievna (therapy)*
Vazhenin Andrey Vladimirovich (oncology)*
Dolgushin Ilya Ilyich (clinical immunology)
* - young scientist
There were some accusations of nepotism, but for science it turned out to be not so bad
The Academy of Sciences has become fairly worn out over the years of reform that began in 2013. For five years, no new members were elected, and the old ones died... They say that in recent years, due to these sad statistics, a hundred (!) vacancies have become available. Now the time has come for rejuvenation, the arrival of young members and academicians ready to fight for science. Were the hopes of the scientific community justified, were random people who could hardly be called scientists included in the lists of chosen ones? MK found out all this by attending the general meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Leninsky Prospekt, where the elections were held.
Previously, the Academy held elections for new members every two years. Due to the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which began in 2013, the last pre-election period dragged on for five years. Everyone was waiting, so when the go-ahead was given, 2,400 applications were received immediately. 13 branches of the large Academy submitted their candidacies. However, according to the results of the third round of voting, there were 500 of them left - about 200 were identified for the vacancy of “academician” and 300 for “corresponding member”. The Academy was faced with the task of rejuvenating the RAS by 5 years, and it did it. If before the elections the average age of academicians was close to 75 years, now it is gradually approaching 70. Corresponding members have reduced their average age from 70 to 65 years.
“These elections are essentially revolutionary,” says gerontologist Vladimir Khavinson, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, - after all, a large number of people under 51 years old were attracted. And I support this decision. After all, at the institute it is necessary not only to do science, but also to equip laboratories, obtain reagents, laboratory animals... For a person who is over 70 years old, this is already energetically difficult; young people need strength.”
“No “glitches” - we just didn’t agree”
But this, as they say, is the opinion of the older generation. What will young people say about the elections? “There were no “glitches” or fraud,” one of the young members of the academy (he is about 40 years old) shared with us, “I am pleased with the elections in our chemistry department. Whom are you especially happy for? For our young candidates who became corresponding members - for Volodya Ivanov, director of the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, his colleague Yulia Gorbunova, for whom this was already the second or third attempt. One disappointment is that some vacancies for which talented scientists could apply simply did not appear. And there were many applicants, but due to the struggle between scientific schools, none of the candidates received the required number of votes. So we didn’t have any academicians or corresponding members in the section of physical chemistry and in one of the sections of the materials department.”
A similar situation occurred in the energy department and in other departments. Several possible vacancies, in fact, disappeared only because people could not “agree in advance,” as the majority believes. “This is all due to lack of information,” says academic biotechnologist Alexey Egorov. - Many specific new directions in science are emerging, and not everyone knows about them. The same as about the people who deal with them. Candidates need to present themselves more actively.”
Is nepotism in science always good?
But where the academics outdid themselves in terms of communication skills was in the medical department: it turned out to have the most members and the fewest missed vacancies. Apparently, it was not difficult to reach an agreement: judging by the election lists, a good half of the existing academicians brought their offspring to fill the vacancies as corresponding members, and they are preparing their replacements.
Thus, Professor Alexei Tutelyan, the son of the director of the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Viktor Tutelyan, the son of the director of the State Scientific Center for Dermatovenereology and Cosmetology Anna Kubanova, was elected as a corresponding member (they say that the counting commission, which determined candidates for corresponding member, was set up right in my mother’s office). .. But the daughter of the famous doctor Academician Chazov, Irina Chazova, went even further - to become an academician.
Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Anna Kubanova...
And her son, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexey Kubanov. Photo: cnikvi.ru
“As for Kubanov, I can’t say anything about him, I don’t know him, they say that he was re-elected and he passed with great difficulty,” clinician Vladimir Khavinson comments on this continuity of generations. - The Russian Academy of Sciences is large, of course, there is one percent of “special” cases... Daughters, sons... But this is an insignificant percentage for which it is impossible to paint a general picture. Those people are no better or worse than others, they just received an administrative advantage... But as for Irina Chazova, she definitely deserves the title of academician, she has a huge number of published works. Believe me, I’m not saying this in terms of sycophancy, I’m an independent person.”
Also, my interlocutor, among those worthy of the title of corresponding member, singled out professor from the Institute of Epidemiology Musa Khaitov, the son of academician Rakhim Khaitov. “The son, like the father, is very smart,” several current members of the Russian Academy of Sciences confirmed to me without saying a word. Moreover, the son’s father was a scientific consultant. It turns out that dynasties in medicine are not always bad.
Almost in unison, I was praised for the election of one of the best surgeons in Russia, the head physician of the Botkin Hospital, Alexei Shabunin, as a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Andrei Lisitsa, who became an academician and director of the Institute of Biomedical Chemistry. The latter seems to have set a record for age - this newly minted pundit is only forty! And no protection! They say that previously, in the USSR, such 30–40-year-old academicians were elected to the Academy, so now a start has been made.
Another unique record was set by the director of the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Sergei Boytsov; during five (!) election campaigns he was nominated for the vacancy of a corresponding member and finally passed.
Where to go? For such a long time that there were no elections at the Academy, more than a hundred people died in it, according to Vladimir Khatskelevich, it is necessary to fill the gap. “The nation is aging, civilization is aging, and yet at the Russian Academy of Sciences gerontology was not introduced this time as a separate vacancy. I am the only gerontologist at the Academy, and this is outrageous!”
The office of director Anna Kubanova, where the votes for her son were counted.
“There are no suspicions about Dvorkovich”
The physics department is very happy for the academician’s choice of director of the country’s largest Institute of Nuclear Physics. Budker RAS 51-year-old Pavel Logachev.
The department of nanotechnologies and information technologies regrets that the most worthy scientist Alexander Sobolev from the Institute of Gene Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences did not become a corresponding member. “It was clear that he was a very worthy person, but somehow they didn’t know him very well,” a member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician, comments on the situation Alexander Aseev. - As a result, a more famous scientist took his place. It’s important to be famous in science.” I ask him a question about the scandalously large number of dynasties among doctors in the Russian Academy of Sciences. “This is in the traditions of the medical department,” he replies, “they recently joined us (the large academy) ... But you know, this is not always bad. Here I will give you an example from one of the sections of our department, where A.V. Dvorkovich was elected corresponding member of the RAS. Don't think that this is our Deputy Prime Minister - we are talking about his nephew. And no one had any suspicion that someone was moving him; this rather young man himself worked very well in the field of information technology.”
When Crimea is not quite ours
The Academy's charter states that the title of “academician” and “corresponding member” is given to a scientist “for his contribution to Russian science.” Based on this, the five leading scientists of Crimea, who have invested in Ukrainian science in recent years, alas, were not given places in the Russian Academy of Sciences. An exception was made only for the rector of the former Crimean Medical University Anatoly Babanin (he was elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences), director of the Magarach Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking Anatoly Avidzba (academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences), director of the Institute of Hydrophysics Viktor Egorov (academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and director of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden Yuri Plugatar (Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences).
“At one time, back in 2007, I was elected a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and now, as they say in sports, I have taken a black belt: I have become a full member of the large Russian Academy of Sciences,” says newly appointed full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Anatoly Avidzba. - It’s a shame that some of my colleagues, whom I also considered worthy of this title, were not chosen. I especially regret the candidacy of Fedor Fedorovich Adamen, who was in the agricultural department. This is a very famous scientist, a talented agronomist.”
Well, what can you say to this? They say that not everything is measured by titles, for example, Dr. Leonid Roshal does not have the title of Corresponding Member or Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but everyone already knows and respects him.
The main thing now for the rejuvenated domestic science is to urgently resolve the issue of organizing its work. Whatever one may say, the RAS-FANO tandem does not work out. So someone has to give in. The essence of the proposal made during the general meeting within the walls of the Russian Academy of Sciences is to remove all academic science from under the Ministry of Education and Science, create a separate Ministry of Science or Committee on Science and Technology, and make FANO one of its structural divisions, so that the economic component is not did not in any way dominate scientific creativity.
“Tell me why you did this?”
A number of high-ranking Russian officials are at risk of being fired from government service because of their ambitions to have their say in science. Vladimir Putin was outraged that, contrary to his written recommendations, employees of the Presidential Administration, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Education, the FSB and other departments were recently elected academicians and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“If they are such great scientists, I will be forced to give them the opportunity to engage in science, since this activity is more important to them than administrative ones,” the president said.
An unexpected message was heard at a meeting of the Presidential Council on Science and Education, which met in the Kremlin to discuss the final version of the strategy for scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation.
Previously, it seemed to be considered prestigious for civil servants to have an academic degree in a relevant field. And the title of academician should have guaranteed the sacred awe of his subordinates and the respect of his superiors: “A man of such intelligence! You can’t do without him!”
However, numerous scandals with fake scientific titles and dubious dissertations (the latest striking example is) seem to have infuriated the president. Realizing that the fight against candidates and doctors of science could completely decapitate ministries and departments, Putin launched a preemptive strike against civil servants who claim to be called the scientific elite.
After waiting for the discussion about strategy to end, the president recalled that last year he turned to his colleagues and the president of the Academy of Sciences with one simple, as it seemed to him, request - to stop the vicious practice of electing officials to the elected bodies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (that is, not giving them the title of academicians and Corr member)
The GDP justified its recommendation by priorities. If a person is in the civil service, especially at the upper levels, he must “carry out his administrative duties in the most serious manner,” and engage in scientific activities exclusively in his free time. “But conscientious people actually don’t have it,” the president believes. Therefore, either the civil service is going down the drain, or scientific activity is a profanation.
However, some colleagues - and here Putin listed several departments, in particular, the Presidential Administration, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the FSB - turned a deaf ear to his recommendations. They took part in the elections held at the end of October 2016 and were elected.
Tell me why did you do this? - Putin turned to the discouraged President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Fortov, - Are they such great scientists that the Academy cannot do without them? This is the first question. And second - what should I do about it now?
For the first time in the memory of journalists, Vladimir Putin publicly asked himself such a truly Hamlet-like question. Moreover, he offered someone to solve it for him.
Fortov had no face. “They all said they got permission...” he muttered in confusion.
That’s not the question,” VVP interrupted, “Are they really such great scientists that they should be corresponding members and academicians?”
They passed the entire competition without exceptions or exceptions...
“You don’t answer my question,” the president interrupted again and continued his Jesuit interrogation: “So, they are great scientists?”
Vladimir Fortov's position looked absolutely hopeless. It was as if he had received checkmate and checkmate at the same time. His conscience did not allow him to recognize officials as major scientists on the level of Kapitsa or Zhores Alferov. To say that they are not is an honor. Indeed, in this case, it turns out that the Academy of Sciences hands out high scientific titles to just anyone.
“They deserve to be elected,” the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences finally whispered barely audibly.
Putin smiled bloodthirstyly.
So they are great scientists? - he asked again.
It turns out that this is so,” Fortov could no longer resist.
Okay, I won’t torture you anymore,” the president finally relented. However, for the academic officials themselves, the recognition extorted from Fortov did not bode well.
“I will be forced to give them the opportunity to engage in science,” summed up VVP. “Apparently, their scientific activity is more important than the performance of some routine administrative duties in government and government bodies.
After this discussion, none of the meeting participants could remember why the Presidential Council actually met in the Kremlin. The officials sitting at the table frantically turned over their scientific titles and degrees in their heads and wondered who exactly would be affected by the president’s decision - only the recently elected academicians and corresponding members, or everyone? And does it apply, for example, to the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, whose members are, in particular, the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and VVP assistant Andrei Belousov?
Vladimir Putin, speaking to reporters at the end of the council meeting, clarified his position on this matter: the order applies only to those civil servants (including governors) who were elected to the RAS after recommendations not to do so were issued. “These recommendations were given in October 2015,” the head of state specified. According to him, in this case we are talking about discipline, which in government bodies must remain at the proper level. “I would like to wish success to those who have chosen creative research work,” said VVP.
Vladimir Fortov, in turn, explained that the Academy of Sciences cannot withdraw its decision and deprive the high ranks of those officials who want to sacrifice science in order to remain in the civil service. “The law has no retroactive force,” he threw up his hands.
From the MK dossier: This year, for example, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Savenkov, head of the registration and archival collections department of the FSB of the Russian Federation Vasily Khristoforov became corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Deputy Minister of Education Alexey Lopatin became an academician.
President Vladimir Putin has publicly threatened to fire officials turned academics against his strong recommendation last year.
Then Putin asked them to “refrain” from participating in the elections of academicians and corresponding members - because officials “can only engage in scientific research in their free time, which is practically not left for people who work conscientiously in administrative positions.”
Not everyone abstained: at the last elections to the Russian Academy of Sciences, member of the Federation Council from Buryatia Arnold Tulokhonov and Deputy Minister of Education and Science Alexey Lopatin became full academicians, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Savenkov, Minister of Health of the Perm Territory Olga Kovtun (as it became known, in August, who left her position), Deputy Head of Roshydromet Alexander Makosko, Head of the Department of Registration and Archival Funds of the FSB Vasily Khristoforov, Director of the Department of Science, Innovative Development and Management of Medical and Biological Health Risks of the Ministry of Health Sergei Rumyantsev, Head of the Main Medical Directorate of the Presidential Administration Konstantin Kotenko, Head of the Main Military Medical Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Alexander Fisun and Deputy Director of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Igor Sheremet.
Among the candidates were even higher-ranking people: for example, on the list of candidates for academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the department of medical sciences was the Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova. The lists of potential academicians included Senator Andrei Klishas, Governor of the Tambov Region Alexander Nikitin, Head of the Federal Archive Agency Andrei Artizov, Deputy Governor of the Rostov Region and Minister of Agriculture Vyacheslav Vasilenko, Minister of Health and Resorts of Karachay-Cherkessia Husein Kurdanov and others. At the same time, Skvortsova and Nikitin According to the Russian Academy of Sciences, they withdrew their candidacies even before the elections.
Of course, it is impossible to say that the newly elected academicians and corresponding members received their titles without being scientists: for example, Arnold Tulokhonov - Doctor of Geographical Sciences, professor, who headed the Baikal Institute of Natural Resources for 12 years; Vasily Khristoforov - Doctor of Law, who worked for many years at the Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Alexander Makosko - Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, well-known specialist in atmospheric physics, etc. But just the same
It is a fact that it is impossible to really combine public office and scientific work. Especially the work of an academician, whose main function by status is to enrich science with new knowledge.
In this sense, the president is right when he says that “I will have to give them the opportunity to engage in science, because, apparently, their scientific activity is much more important than the performance of some routine administrative duties in government and government bodies.” And it is quite possible that the listed characters will have to go on sabbatical from their positions. Or voluntarily give up academic robes.
The tradition of “graduating the authorities,” of course, did not appear in Putin’s or Yeltsin’s times - it is completely Soviet, when an academic degree was considered an important addition to an administrative position.
Often this degree was organized for the current boss through the efforts of subordinates who wrote the relevant work to the “chief”. If the authorities were very high, they could, like the first secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU Grigory Romanov, award a doctorate while defending his candidate’s thesis, being delighted with the depth of his scientific achievements.
However, it rarely reached academicians: it seems that in the Soviet era, an academician was still more often appointed as a minister than a minister was made an academician.
In the early post-Soviet times, the process slowed down, and then began with renewed vigor: a minister, governor or State Duma deputy without an academic degree became a rarity. First - a candidate's degree, then - a doctor's degree.
It is not necessary to be a scientist: few people seriously consider Doctor of Philosophy Zhirinovsky or Doctor of Historical Sciences Medinsky to be scientists. And it’s difficult to classify Putin as a candidate of economic sciences among them. And cases like the one with Grigory Yavlinsky, who defended his doctoral dissertation after resigning as a State Duma deputy, are quite rare.
Gradually, there apparently became so many doctors of science that this would no longer surprise anyone. And I had to go further - into academics. Moreover, in the real ones - the Russian Academy of Sciences (the titles of the proliferating pseudo-academies are no longer in honor).
You can understand the officials: being an academician or a corresponding member is not only a beautiful inscription on a business card, it also means substantial payments. An academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences is entitled to 100 thousand rubles a month, a corresponding member - 50 thousand. At the same time, ministers or deputy ministers can be fired at any time, but academicians or corresponding members cannot: the titles are for life, as are the payments. And if something happens, they will be very useful in life.