SOS! Russian science is going to the bottom!
Russian scientists who have gone abroad have written an open letter to the presidentLenta.ru
A group of Russian scientists currently working abroad has addressed an open letter to the President and Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
Experts called the state of affairs in Russian fundamental science catastrophic and called on the leaders of the state to take a number of measures that could save the situation. The full text of the letter is available here.
The authors of the letter identify four main problems of Russian science. The first is its significant lag behind world—class science. The second is the lack of strategic planning for the development of science, which would allow us to identify clear goals for further movement. The third is the low wages of researchers, which provoked a sharp drop in the prestige of scientific professions and a personnel shortage. The fourth problem scientists called the deterioration of the quality of teaching natural sciences, which led to a decrease in the level of training of students and postgraduates.
The experts who wrote the letter note that these difficulties can be overcome only with the participation of the state. They add that in order to restore Russian science, it is necessary to develop a whole system of measures. When preparing it, officials need to involve "outstanding scientists, representatives of ministries, industry, as well as foreign experts."
Among the measures to be taken, the authors of the letter indicate an increase in the level of remuneration of scientists and an increase in the total funding of science, the allocation of the most important areas of scientific and technological progress, the involvement of leading specialists from abroad in Russia (as one of the ways to do this, the authors call the construction of a new generation high-energy particle collider). In addition, scientists note the need to create a transparent system of financing science and strengthen the system of independent scientific grants. Another measure that could save the situation in Russian science, experts call the active popularization of scientific knowledge.
This is not the first letter addressed to the leaders of the state, signed by a large number of scientists. A year and a half ago, scientists appealed to prevent the introduction of academic degrees in theology. However, in 2009, theological degrees were equalized with scientific degrees. At the end of September, scientists appealed to Medvedev with a request to make changes to the system of allocating funds for scientific activities and to prevent the reduction of funding for state scientific funds and mass competitions of the Federal Target Program "Scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel of innovative Russia".
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru02.10.2009