President Vladimir Putin met this week with the Council on Science and Education in a visit to the scientific center in Novosibirsk. He also visited the just-completed mega-science project, the Siberian Ring Photon Source Shared Use Center (SKIF). He characterized it as the “world’s best source of such radiation in the medium energy range—[which] will allow scientific research on synchrotron beams radiation and obtain ultra-precise data on the structure of matter, behavior at the atomic level, including during ultrafast processes.”
He noted the importance of these megascience projects in assuring Russia’s “technological sovereignty.” This was also underscored by the fact that when some countries refused to provide equipment to Russia for this new facility, Russia had developed the equipment itself.
Putin said the council would discuss “what substantive solutions and mechanisms will allow us to significantly accelerate and spur development of technologies of the future.”
“To do this, first of all, it is necessary to focus on solving priority tasks, effectively integrating our strategic scientific assets of Russia, and these are research schools and advanced digital computing resources, these were unique, established by Nikolai Vavilov and other outstanding scientists,” Putin stressed.
