Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Gennadi Krasnikov, the new president of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), to discuss the advancement of science in Russia, new plans for scientific endeavors, and events planned for this year’s celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Academy. Krasnikov said that the Academy had established relations with all branches of government to establish their authority there. The academy has also established ten new “roadmaps” for development, including in AI, quantum technologies, new materials, and new mobile communications systems.
Krasnikov explained: “Firstly, we have started forming a unified scientific space. It is very important that there was a government resolution bringing the Kurchatov Institute under our scientific and methodological supervision. I think this is very important.
“Secondly, we have started holding joint meetings between the leadership of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Russian Academy of Sciences in order to synchronize many things, and we have reached an agreement.” The Academy will again take responsibility for reviewing the books that are used in the classrooms, which was a prerogative for the Academy until it was taken from them in 2018.
Krasnikov said they have also established a number of scientific councils in the nation, which include Academy members, as well as leading scientists in industry, in university science, and in high-tech companies. There are now 45 such councils under the presidium of the RAS. He added: “We have also started initiating major state projects in microelectronics. I would like to elaborate on this as well if there is time. Of course, there are new technologies, especially for the aviation industry. These include composite materials, aerodynamics, and new genetic technology.”
Krasnikov detailed that the Academy has 439 members from 55 countries, and that some major awards have been presented to some of these foreign academicians. The academy also runs 108 basic schools in 35 regions, with 25,000 students.
The Academy has also established a new branch in St. Petersburg, where the RAS, now based in Moscow, was first established. The branch received a new locale on the University Embankment in St. Petersburg, a measure which was facilitated through Putin’s initiative. Krasnikov also explained that the RAS was working with their members in the new territories, in the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Donetsk People’s Republic, Zaporozhye, Kherson, and also in Crimea.
The founding of the Academy will be celebrated on February 8, the anniversary of its founding in 1724. There will be a general meeting in May, and in June they will hold a session in St. Petersburg, at the site where the Academy was housed until 1934, when it moved its headquarters to Moscow.