Obscurantism and professors

Unsuccessful time chose the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences to publicly be friends with Cyril

The President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, elected in 2017, is trying to behave as an experienced politician. He does not specially quarrel with anyone and is friends with all influential people in the state. Of course, everything is for the sake of saving domestic science - although now you can’t say exactly from whom.

Last week, the strategy gave a large failure. The audience learned that RAS was awarded the title of honorary professors Patriarch Kirill and the chairman of the Federation Council Valentin Matvienko and was indignant.

At first, it was assumed that the newly -minted luminaries would be awarded on January 22, but the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences carefully transferred the procedure for an indefinite period.

And she made a special statement, they say, this is not yet a final decision, there will be a discussion, academics should vote in support of awards for Cyril and Matvienko.

In the wounds, several political miscalculations were made at once.

Firstly, the Academy is used to acting without public discussion. They themselves came up with whom to consider professors, they themselves appointed the procedure, awarded. No one could have noticed, and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church would have just another pleasant reward. Here, they say, even scientists highly appreciate our contribution. Academics, if they report to anyone, then before the authorities, and most local bureaucrats are concerned about the status of “presidential advisers”. But then society was indignant, and RAS at the same time recalled that, strictly speaking, scientists should not work at all for the authorities, but for citizens. And citizens, in the case of an honorary professor-patriarch, were amazed quite loudly: what is happening in the wounds?

Secondly, the figure of Patriarch Kirill for a significant part of Russian society is quite odious and is associated with obscurantism and persecution of people for “insulting the feelings of believers”. It follows that not all those respected in the Russian state are equally useful for the wounds. If Sergeyev decided to issue the title of Professor Ramzan Kadyrov, this would also cause questions, although he is a very famous person and, if necessary, organize a scientific policy of power support. Svetlana Popova spokesman Sergeeva began to make excuses that Cyril was a famous popularizer of science, and was even familiar with Sergey Kapitsa. In response, the Internet was ironic:

In the wounds there is an action, bring a familiar scientist and receive the status of a professor.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church also has something to think about after the award was postponed to the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the idea was criticized on social networks. It turns out, in addition to friendship between chiefs in Russia, there is another policy. By the way, Valentina Matvienko was deprived of honorary professorship just for the company, although they also joked about her: they say, he receives a title for acquaintance with the right people.

In general, if they are going to protect the high title of science in the Russian Academy of Sciences, then it is worth being more selective with titles. But, perhaps, the largest miscalculation was made by Sergeyev in a cynical and political sense. An unsuccessful time was chosen by the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences in order to get closer and publicly be friends with Cyril.

At the traditional Christmas service, a political emptiness formed near the Patriarch.

Of the entire Russian elite in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, only Prime Minister Medvedev and his wife were present. President Putin was at that time in St. Petersburg. You can’t call it an accident, because the main achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church for the reporting period is the loss of Ukrainian parishes, which is also achieved by the price of the split of world Orthodoxy.

Do professors' titles give for this?