The presidential election will be held in September

A week after the end of the General Assembly of the Russian Academy of Sciences, on March 28, 2017, in the old building of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences, the first press conference of the acting President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the former director of the Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Kozlov, was held [1].

He said that, apparently, on September 26, the next general meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences will begin, during which, on September 27, the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences will be held. Kozlov himself will not run to the president of the Academy. “We proceed from the fact that we act according to the charter of the Russian Academy of Sciences and will parallel to improve the documents governing the elections.”

Prior to the start of the press conference, a meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences was held, at which academicians warmly welcomed Vladimir Fortov, who, according to the order of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on March 23, was an ordinary academician. On March 28, Vladimir Evgenievich was approved by an adviser to the Russian Academy of Sciences. At the same meeting, the composition of a commission of six people, led by V.V. Kozlov, was determined, who will bring to mind the procedure for presidential elections.

At the same time, Valery Vasilievich himself noted that the previous procedure, in his opinion, was adequate and allowed to hold fair elections, but it can be made even better. He believes that the “electoral law” within the academy must be made more liberal. Valery Vasilievich recalled that back in Soviet times, the candidacy for the post of president of the Academy of Sciences could be made directly “from the parquet”, that is, during the general meeting.

Now, only an academician, nominated by at least one branch of the Academy of Sciences, can become a candidate for president of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Moreover, each department can put forward only one person regardless of the number (and it differs significantly). “We will interact with both thematic and regional departments of the Russian Academy of Sciences, are ready to perceive the comments of colleagues,” Kozlov said. If everything goes according to plan, then on April 11 an official announcement should be held on the date and agenda of the next general meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Why was this all this special operation? In order to eliminate Fortov? Okay, they got rid of him ... Do you have an internal understanding of what power wants? What candidate? Suppose, in the fall, the general meeting of this necessary candidate will not choose-and again will the authorities come up with and break the process? ” I asked.

“What was the“ special operation ”, as you say, I do not know. This is a question that I honestly say, I would not want to comment, all the more to speculate on it. And I would pay attention to the constructive part of your question and concentrated on it ... I believe that the process of updating the leadership of the academy or some other structure should occur constantly. And it would be good if the management of the Academy of Sciences ... It came not only the next, but after the next generation of the very fifty-year-olds who would engage in the present and had prospects in the future. And there are such people ... "

"And name the surnames!" - the journalists began to ask right away. But the wise and. O. He did not name the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences and offered to talk about this on the sidelines and not for printing.

At the same time, Valery Kozlov denied the possible participation in the September elections of the member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the head of the Kurchatov Institute Mikhail Kovalchuk. “According to the current rules, this is impossible, because only the actual member of the Academy of Sciences can become the president.” And Mikhail Valentinovich will be able to become such not earlier than 2018, when, perhaps, new elections in the Russian Academy of Sciences will be held. "Read the collection of regulatory documents!" - patted the book and. About the head of the Academy of Sciences.

“Your consultations with certain unnamed people in the government or administration [the President of the Russian Federation] give reason to believe that this time there will not be forcibly done, that there will be no amendments, no changes at the legislative level. They promised you this? " - the journalists of the "Search" specified.

“I can say this: we discussed a significant part of the spectrum of capabilities,” answered the cautious V.V. “And as I understand it, this question is not relevant.” On April 1, 2017, on the air of Russia 1, the assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Andrei Fursenko confirmed that on the Old Square the law on the appointment of the Head of the Russian Academy of Sciences is not developed and that the election of the new head of the Academy of Sciences will be held according to the current charter of the Russian Academy of Sciences [2]. During the press conference, Academician Kozlov recalled that RAS is a state budget institution built into the system of government, and so has always been for 300 years. And that in imperial Russia, and under the Soviet regime, the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences was not elegant that even now it is necessary to consult with the leadership of the country.

Judging by the cautious statements of the diplomatic Valery Vasilievich, the election of a candidate, who will be acceptable for both the general meeting and for the country's leadership, may require some changes to the election procedure, say, lowering the required percentage of votes during a secret vote from two -thirds to 50% of the general meeting quorum.

So far, the question remains open whether the forts will be advanced, or it has been finally broken. “Vladimir Evgenievich kept a meeting of the Presidium at the ongoing on March 28 quite confidently. Nothing interferes with his nomination from the position of an adviser to the Russian Academy of Sciences. Now no one will say that at his post he will be able to somehow influence the polls, ”one academician, a member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, asked me not to call his name in an interview with me. According to another version, neither forts nor Panchenko and Makarov will not run for anymore.

Natalia Demina

1. See . Fragments of the transcript of the press - conferences and full video : http://trv-science.ru/2017/03/29/kozlov_ras/

2. Http://russia.tv/video/show/brand_id/5217/episode_id/1486847/video_id/160924 5/