Press Release, September 17, 2013

YABLOKO’a activists Yury Medovar, senior research scientist at Institute for Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Grigory Semyonov, YABLOKO’s municipal deputy, conducted a serious of one-person pickets against the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences outside the State Duma on September 17.

The protesters gathered outside the State Duma long before the action began. At 09:00 a.m. the police already put a cordon around the building and didn’t allow the activists to come up to the entrance. About 300 people came to protest against the law on the reform of the Academy of Sciences.  YABLOKO’s activists had a poster with the slogan “The reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a crime against the Russian science!”.

“We conduct this picket for the independence of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It has been a self-governing organisation for 300 hundred years, even in the times of reprisals”, said Grigory Semyonov.  The deputy is outraged with the fact that the authorities decided to take the money and property away from the independent organisation. “How can the sportsmen and artists who are deputies of the State Duma decide the fate of the Russian Academy of Sciences?”, wondered YABLOKO’s municipal deputy.

Yury Medovar is sure that the unity of the country is based on science. “The breakup of science is the end of Russia”, he said. According to Medovar, what is going on has no connection with the reforms. “Timiryazhev said once that science can be free only under democracy. We don’t have democracy, we have “putinism” . You see it yourself what’s happening with the Russian science”.

The second reading of the law on the reform of the Academy of Sciences will be held today, later the amendments will be made. The final adoption of the law may take place tomorrow.

Though some amendments can improve the law, they won’t change its nature: after the reform the officials will manage the science, not the scientists

YABLOKO demands from the State Duma to cancel the law and conduct a broad public discussion on the future reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the participation of the general meeting of the academicians.

YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin described his proposes on the reform in July, 2013. “The real reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences involves the increase of its financing in the first place. The baseline salaries should  be increased  (at present the salary of a PhD is about 20 thousand roubles or 460 Euro), the system of temporary grants should be broadened. The Russian Academy of Sciences and its institutes must on the contrary have more independence and flexibility in personnel and financial issues as well as broadening  of the transparency of all the administrative and financial activities, democratisation, competition, age limit and regular rotation of the senior executives, special benefits for young scientists”, said YABLOKO leader.

Yury Medovar

Grigory Semyonov

This was not the first YABLOKO’s action against the reform of the Academy of Sciences proposed by the authorities.