Causing and driving in wedges

It is not entirely clear how to interpret the latest events around the Academy of Sciences. It seems like the high authorities have backed down. Now it is planned not to completely merge the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, but to merge them into one structure, but with the preservation of legal entities. All institutes, divisions and regional offices will be preserved. The core members will remain (as well as, naturally, the cores and sidekicks) - however, only for three years. However, the Agency of Scientific Institutes, which will distribute finances, will not disappear from the reform project, but will be headed by the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (which means that the elected head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Fortov, accepted Putin’s proposal). At the same time, the Duma is still going to consider the bill on reforming the academy in the second reading on July 5. On the other hand, the speaker of the lower house Sergei Naryshkin says that they will return to the second reading in the fall. It is very possible that some of those who are now outraged will, if not please, be calmed down by all this, and Putin will again appear as a savior and peacemaker.

So, is it true that it was by chance that traces of the residence of two hundred migrants were found in the basement of the Russian Academy of Sciences?..

Putin even tried to appease some NGOs. According to him, the law on NPOs can be partially edited so as not to create problems for those organizations that should not fall under its scope. In general, you can still receive money from abroad, but not for political activities (that’s how it was originally intended, they decided to count anything as political activity, including teaching French and supporting children with cystic fibrosis). And, of course, there is no question of canceling the registration of organizations as foreign agents. In this way, Putin seems to be driving a wedge between seemingly law-abiding NGOs that deal with purely social problems, and others that muddy the waters and criticize the authorities (they were recently attacked from the Duma rostrum by the unforgettable deputy Alexander Sidyakin, one of the authors of the law on NPO). Well, to the heap, let’s say, a significant throw of the dice - the distribution of state funding among NGOs on a competitive basis will be the public movement “Civic Dignity” led by Ella Pamfilova.