Five wasted years

On May 14, it became known about the decision of the current head of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Academician Yuri Osipov, not to run in the upcoming elections. Who will replace him?

The elections will be held on May 29, and three candidates are running for the post of President of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Vice-Presidents of the Academy - Zhores Alferov, Nobel laureate, and Alexander Nekipelov, as well as Academician Vladimir Fortov.

Candidate programs are clearly tailored to the target audience that will vote, and therefore pretty smoothed out. Alferov's program has a "memoir" sound - it reflects the greatness of Soviet-Russian science along with "certain shortcomings" and faith in a brighter future. Fortov is much more honest in the ascertaining part - his picture of the state of the Russian Academy of Sciences is much more consistent with reality. However, his program lacks some important points that he has spoken elsewhere, such as that the researcher, not the administrator, should be the central figure in the Academy of Sciences. Nekipelov's program contains quite a lot of specifics, but does not leave a solid impression that could be expressed in one phrase.

It is interesting that all three intend to seek the adoption of an amendment to the charter of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which limits the holding of top administrative positions to two terms. Apparently, after the 20-year rule of Yuri Osipov, this requirement became popular.

However, the main difference between the candidates lies outside the scope of their programs.

Vladimir Fortov is both the official and unofficial favorite of these elections. He was nominated by seven departments of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Alferov - 4, Nekipelova - 3), he also won by a wide margin in the rating voting at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Ordinary scientific people also support him: in the voting held on the website of the Society of Scientific Workers, he scored more than 80% of the vote.

Whoever is eventually elected, one should not expect quick radical changes in the RAS - such a system is not amenable to rapid reform. But a change in trends in the event of Fortov's victory, in my opinion, is quite real. In any case, he is now saying the right things, as he did the right things back when he was Deputy Prime Minister - in particular, funding for the Russian Foundation for Basic Research has been radically increased. And for sure, Fortov is more open to dialogue with the scientific community than other candidates. Finally, the scientists' real hope is that Fortov will end the Cold War between the Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Education.

By the way, in the last elections, Fortov also had a lot of support - both academics and ordinary scientists. But then Osipov won (with a small margin), as the Man with whom Putin spoke - the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences stood up for him with a mountain. It seems that some of those who then "stood like a mountain" subsequently repented. Five wasted years...