Scientists restrict communication with the world and it is pure schizophrenia, experts say. How then to fulfill the strategic mandate of development of international relations?
Ministry of science has issued orders that the scientists is rigidly restricted in contacts with foreign colleagues: the communication need to apply, communications must be held with two witnesses, etc. the document is Dated February, but only now one of the scientists, Professor of the Institute, has written an open letter to the Minister demanding the withdrawal of absurd demands. In the science the fact of signing such an order does not deny, but called it a “recommendation”, but that does not diminish his effective power. Science today has made a collective call to lift restrictions. They are reminded that science is born through joint efforts of scientists from different countries and is the common heritage of mankind, and the fact of signing such instruction is called an illustration of the inadequacy of the Ministry as the governing body for domestic science. To date, the document has not been revoked.
Oleg Komolov, candidate of economic Sciences, associate Professor REU them. G. V. Plekhanov:
“Some “tightening” of the implementation of international scientific relations comes amid squarewave, reduction of international economic relations in the world. This applies not only to Russia. If we look at the world economy, we find that the mechanisms of protectionism, sanctions, currency wars, etc. are used more often, reduced the intensity of the exchange investment international trade. This comes against the backdrop of the ongoing global crisis, because to get back on the growth path of the global economy, and countries begin to withdraw into themselves, closed from external contacts, to concentrate the resources within themselves. This applies not only to economic resources, not only the classical factors of production such as land, capital and other resources. This, in particular, applies to scientific knowledge.
The current behavior of the Ministry of education is in the framework of this global trend. In the framework of deepening, growing enmity between the two countries, the growing tension and the closeness is limited and international scientific contacts. This, of course, bad, because it is limited to the development of science and the possibility of increment of scientific knowledge.
The rest depends on execution. If we turn to the mid-twentieth century, when the Soviet Union lived in forced economic isolation, contacts with Soviet scientists is also foreign controlled, limited, and managed largely to keep some private strategic secret.
In the early 2000-ies, on the contrary, the Russian science actually worked on the Western world: Russian scientists published the results of their research in international journals, foreign companies have used these data, and then the technology did not work in Russia. And now I want science to somehow “loop” in the country. But there may be a performance issue: we have a prohibitive, restrictive measures come up a lot, but the bureaucracy is inefficiency. And I’m just afraid that these measures may become a kind of club, which will be even more beat Russian scientists hand and, for example, will limit the availability of foreign grants, participation in international projects. JAC scientist I look at it rather negatively”.
Pavel Kudyukin, co-chair of the trade Union “University solidarity”:
“On the one hand, we speak of the necessity of development of relations, the export of educational services, attracting foreign teachers and researchers, and on the other is accepted that such a decree, which negates and hinders opportunities for the implementation of this strategy.
Here’s the situation: received a grant for research, which is attracting prominent foreign scientists. But it turns out that we foreign scientists attracted, and then put in a very humiliating situation, after which he’ll just say, you know, good Sirs, in such circumstances, I can work with you not going, goodbye.
I have the feeling that the right hand knows what the left is doing. A very schizophrenic split personality from the Agency. On the one hand, we include indicators of efficiency of attraction of foreign teachers, recruitment of foreign students, and with another – as it employ.
Even in the late Soviet years were limited — it was impossible to communicate with foreigners without the approval of management, but such to communicate at least three of us on the Soviet side, this condition was not. It was possible one on one chat. It turns out that conditions are now tougher than it was in Soviet years.”
Alexey Kondaurov, the General-the major of KGB in resignation, the Deputy of the state Duma of the IV convocation:
“Text “instructions” I was very surprised. In this sense the order I do not see, and which side of him do not look, it looks a bit weird.
Even if it was a manual for employees of the intelligence agencies to communicate with foreigners, and even then it looks quite silly and primitive. Russian science forward, it is definitely not advance.
Will Russian scientists to follow the recommendations? If a good scientist wants to go abroad, he’s still leaving. At the time, Soviet artists (scientists less and the artists more often) many fled abroad, because he considered that the conditions for creativity there is more than we have in the Soviet Union. The same will happen with scientists. If they believe that their academic activities and for them personally overseas conditions is preferable, it will not stop them any instructions.”
Dmitry Dubrovsky-candidate of historical Sciences, associate Professor of the HSE:
“The Ministry of education is played back and said that the document is Advisory in nature. What that means, now even less clear. If earlier it was idiotic, but now it’s the idiocy of a recommendatory nature.
But, in General, it is not yesterday for some new logic, and this is the text that appeared in 2007, and it’s called “the law on export control”, which is the secret Annex. In accordance with these secret apps, as far as I know, all the things that are listed in this order, theoretically, will apply to all public companies. Not only the Academy of Sciences, not only in the universities, and in all state institutions.
The logic is very simple: any state has the right and should control, for example, on the spread of technology related to nuclear weapons or even nuclear fusion, with other dangerous technologies or dual-use technologies. But the problem is that in a real relation to the practice of this law, unfortunately, no reservations that this applies to a limited category of subjects. And the result is that this nonsense has to do everything.
Not only that, it looks like an anachronism, but also as the absolute schizophrenia when the dragon has two heads. One head yells: let’s publish in the West, organize international conferences, invite foreigners, we want to be part of the world. And the second one says: no foreigners, it is dangerous, all monitor, record, and all account”.
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