RUSSIAN HARVARD?

In human society, the custom of “measuring one’s belly” is extremely persistent. And if some Pithecanthropes found nothing better than to boast about the size of their clubs and the strength of their skulls, then in a less cannibalistic era, entertainment became much more refined: cockroaches or pig races, the brand of a jeep, the length of the legs of a beautiful wife... States are sometimes just as gambling , like their individual fellow citizens. By “purchasing” professional foreign football players or sophisticated doping, they grant the right to the “proles”, excited by the spectacle, to run out into the night streets with a guttural cry of “Russia, forward!” and thereby frighten late passersby. Sometimes, however, some bright government heads are also concerned about investing state capital in something more worthy than the pirouettes of gymnasts and the trills of Eurovision participants. A Dream of Great Scientific Achievements appears.

Of course, you want to do all this with a minimum of costs and maximum returns. After all, the whole world remembers the success with the launch of the “conversion” Royal R-7 rockets (the legendary “sevens”), which launched the first satellite and the first man into space. It is unlikely that any sporting achievement of those years can be as memorable now. Countless “socialist construction projects” have also been forgotten, but the names of Korolev and Gagarin still shine brightly - this is such an object of universal pride, you can’t take it away from our people. Because this is real. Stung by the understanding of the fact of “authenticity,” the pride of the Americans not only inspired them to their exploits - for incredible money they delivered the first astronaut to the Moon (this event turns exactly 40 years old in a month) - but also drives this country to this day. For this we also need to say thanks to Korolev.

Don’t believe anyone who says that the country doesn’t have extra money now. As a rule, they are always there - both to wage wars that are by no means victorious, and to build facilities for the Winter Olympics in two thousand...19. If the country found money for the construction in the subtropics of many grandiose winter complexes at once, harmful to the ecology of the resort and doomed to please only the eyes of the elite in the future, if they found it for nanomegaprojects, then for something real that will not go rotten in a few years, but will serve a source of pride for descendants, the money must be found.

Our leaders are offended that Russian universities languish somewhere at the bottom of the list according to international rankings. It was even decided to create their own “correct” ratings, but for some reason such “victories” do not feel proper satisfaction. And there is a proposal to finally stop looking for our own, home-grown ways - how to quickly “catch up and overtake” everyone, and finally turn to international experience - with their system of examinations, international integration in the field of significant scientific projects, the movement of scientific personnel, etc. P. After all, there are many examples of successful solutions to problems facing this or that national science. These problems were solved in the past, and they are still being solved. And one of the ways to solve problems (successfully tested, by the way, by Russia at one time) is the creation of advanced educational institutions. If the state does not provide money for this good cause, it can be provided by private capital, one that is sincerely interested in the revival of Russia, and not in the purchase of yachts and football clubs...

The hot exam season is coming to an end for students and schoolchildren. Our issue is dedicated to universities and graduate school as key factors in the training of future specialists.