What next?

In Russia, it is time to create a wide movement “In defense of education and science”. Science, perhaps, now more than education needs to be defended - after that unprecedented attack on it, which the power began with all its “branches” this summer and successfully ends now, bringing to the complete destruction of the enemy.

Do not believe that it was just the reform of the academies, such reforms are prepared and carried out differently. A fundamental science that does not bring immediate income, a fundamental education that is optional for a career of an official, is not needed by the current Russian government. And no other evidence of this statement after the psychic attack, supposedly on the Academy, did not need to.

That the Academy grew up, changing little in its activities compared to Soviet life, obviously to everyone. But this was not bothered by power. There is no doubt that customers and reform developers perfectly understood that the main thing in the Academy is not its top, but its scientific institutions: thousands of scientists work in them, so breaking a rather complex academic structure will put their fate in a difficult position. In vain naive critics of “Reforms” think that they simply forgot about it. Others are trying to adjust the law on the Russian Academy of Sciences and repeat that, they say, the fate of institutions can be saved, you just need to add several academicians to the Council of officials, and they forgot to do this. Who needs (not the Duma sages, of course) - did not forget.

It was also remembered that in the “own” cooperative there are scientific institutions, and there is also a “own” Skolkovo innovation, and no one needs the old academy. The fact that in this academy and its institutions are not only officials, but many more respected and smart people, scientists recognized around the world, talented youth, who cannot be treated as a cattle: not to listen to their arguments, deceiving them as “suckers” - and this also understood, but continued to act rudely, humiliatingly. The fact that the Academy has its own story, that the Bolsheviks soak it, that the number of repressed academics is comparable to the number of irresistible ones, that Sakharov was still afraid to expel from the academy-this is all unimportant for them. Soon it will be forgotten, not up to them. Olympiad on the nose. This academy, and its property will be very useful. There is nothing to stand on ceremony.

But, I hope, they were mistaken. Of course, the reaction of the academic top confirms the confidence of the authorities. This is a miserable sight and quite predictable. No one resigned. Either I want to save the scholarship, or it is indecent to quarrel with the authorities. Just do not think and say that collaboration will save something.

But the scientific community behaved differently. I think this was a surprise to both the authorities and for hastening journalists, who decided that the academies should be so, and the rest is not interesting. Very interesting.

Unauthorized by the Academy and other organizations, the conference, collected at the end of August, attracted several thousand people from all major scientific centers. Protests, rallies, a huge number of letters and 120 thousand signatures in a statement sent to the president, the book of “Chronicle of Protest”, etc. - All these are the initiatives of the scientific community. Of course, they take part in them, and even lead, the most daring academics. This cannot end in nothing. Let's call a spade a spade: there is a decisive and open discontent not the most backward, albeit a few, part of the population by the actions of the authorities. In democratic (in the full sense of the word) countries, such discontent leads to the requirements of the immediate resignation of the Prime Minister or (and) the president. We are not talking about political claims, which, perhaps, arise, but about the attitude to a specific program regarding the very important side of the life of the whole country and its future - science and thousands of people associated with it.

And if you add many years of resistance to scientists, teachers and many other education reforms to this?

Therefore, I believe that now it is necessary to organize "movement in defense of education and science."

This movement does not set itself political goals and should not be a party. If it is opposition, then only to ignorance and stupidity of power, destroying the little that remains in science and education. The purpose of such a movement in preserving their and their traditions. This is an association "on interests", and moreover, state, not party. I note in passing that there are no real political parties in Russia at all, and this is not the trouble.

It can be foreseen that the authorities will try to tarnish their political technologists, dilute the movement with provocateurs. We can do such special operations and, it seems, are already trying, sending uninvited “defenders” of science. The current government does not know how and does not want to really speak with its opponents, which now belongs to a significant part of scientists.

In essence, such a movement could take some functions of the Academy to a certain extent, since, as you can expect, many outstanding scientists and talented youth will include it. The intellectual potential that can be in this association is sufficient to think and develop all the details of the creation and further activities of this movement.

This proposal to create a “movement in defense of science and education” must be thought out and developed much more detailed. A three-hobby could become a suitable tribune for specific offers and, most importantly, so that there are a circle of people who could and would like to prepare for the creation of a “movement”.

Anatoly Versik,
doct. physical. sciences
Vershik@pdmi.ras.ru