“Tell me why you did this?”
A number of high-ranking Russian officials are at risk of being fired from government service because of their ambitions to have their say in science. Vladimir Putin was outraged that, contrary to his written recommendations, employees of the Presidential Administration, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Education, the FSB and other departments were recently elected academicians and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“If they are such great scientists, I will be forced to give them the opportunity to engage in science, since this activity is more important to them than administrative ones,” the president said.
An unexpected message was heard at a meeting of the Presidential Council on Science and Education, which met in the Kremlin to discuss the final version of the strategy for scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation.
Previously, it seemed to be considered prestigious for civil servants to have an academic degree in a relevant field. And the title of academician should have guaranteed the sacred awe of his subordinates and the respect of his superiors: “A man of such intelligence! You can’t do without him!”
However, numerous scandals with fake scientific titles and dubious dissertations (the latest striking example is) seem to have infuriated the president. Realizing that the fight against candidates and doctors of science could completely decapitate ministries and departments, Putin launched a preemptive strike against civil servants who claim to be called the scientific elite.
After waiting for the discussion about strategy to end, the president recalled that last year he turned to his colleagues and the president of the Academy of Sciences with one simple, as it seemed to him, request - to stop the vicious practice of electing officials to the elected bodies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (that is, not giving them the title of academicians and Corr member)
The GDP justified its recommendation by priorities. If a person is in the civil service, especially at the upper levels, he must “carry out his administrative duties in the most serious manner,” and engage in scientific activities exclusively in his free time. “But conscientious people actually don’t have it,” the president believes. Therefore, either the civil service is going down the drain, or scientific activity is a profanity.
However, some colleagues - and here Putin listed several departments, in particular, the Presidential Administration, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the FSB - turned a deaf ear to his recommendations. They took part in the elections held at the end of October 2016 and were elected.
Tell me why did you do this? - Putin turned to the discouraged President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Fortov, - Are they such great scientists that the Academy cannot do without them? This is the first question. And second - what should I do about it now?
For the first time in the memory of journalists, Vladimir Putin publicly asked himself such a truly Hamlet-like question. Moreover, he offered someone to solve it for him.
Fortov had no face. “They all said they got permission...” he muttered in confusion.
That’s not the question,” VVP interrupted, “Are they really such great scientists that they should be corresponding members and academicians?”
They passed the entire competition without exceptions or exceptions...
“You don’t answer my question,” the president interrupted again and continued his Jesuit interrogation: “So, they are great scientists?”
Vladimir Fortov's position looked absolutely hopeless. It was as if he had received checkmate and checkmate at the same time. His conscience did not allow him to recognize officials as major scientists on the level of Kapitsa or Zhores Alferov. To say that they are not is an honor. Indeed, in this case, it turns out that the Academy of Sciences hands out high scientific titles to just anyone.
“They deserve to be elected,” the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences finally whispered barely audibly.
Putin smiled bloodthirstyly.
So they are great scientists? - he asked again.
It turns out that this is so,” Fortov could no longer resist.
Okay, I won’t torture you anymore,” the president finally relented. However, for the academic officials themselves, the confession extorted from Fortov did not bode well.
“I will be forced to give them the opportunity to engage in science,” summed up VVP. “Apparently, their scientific activity is more important than the performance of some routine administrative duties in government and government bodies.
After this discussion, none of the meeting participants could remember why the Presidential Council actually met in the Kremlin. The officials sitting at the table frantically turned over their scientific titles and degrees in their heads and wondered who exactly would be affected by the president’s decision - only the recently elected academicians and corresponding members, or everyone? And does it apply, for example, to the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, whose members are, in particular, the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and VVP assistant Andrei Belousov?
Vladimir Putin, speaking to reporters at the end of the council meeting, clarified his position on this matter: the order applies only to those civil servants (including governors) who were elected to the RAS after recommendations not to do so were issued. “These recommendations were given in October 2015,” the head of state clarified. According to him, in this case we are talking about discipline, which in government bodies must remain at the proper level. “I would like to wish success to those who have chosen creative research work,” said VVP.
Vladimir Fortov, in turn, explained that the Academy of Sciences cannot withdraw its decision and deprive the high ranks of those officials who want to sacrifice science in order to remain in the civil service. “The law has no retroactive force,” he threw up his hands.
From the MK dossier: This year, for example, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Savenkov, head of the registration and archival collections department of the FSB of the Russian Federation Vasily Khristoforov became corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Deputy Minister of Education Alexey Lopatin became an academician.
In October, 25 officials ran for membership in the Russian Academy of Sciences, 14 of them were elected, Academician Mikhail Paltsev, chief scientific secretary of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told TASS. Senator, member of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Arnold Tulokhonov (became an academician) and the head of the main military medical department of the Ministry of Defense Alexander Fisun (became a corresponding member) entered the Academy. Fisun Paltsev called him a famous military scientist.
On November 23, President Vladimir Putin at the Council on Science and Education expressed dissatisfaction with why several officials became academicians this year, although he gave them the opposite recommendation. He promised to give such officials “the opportunity to engage in science, because, apparently, their scientific activity is much more important than the performance of some routine administrative duties in government and government bodies.” As Vedomosti found out, the highest-ranking official who could become an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the department of medical sciences in the fall elections was Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova. Her name was on the list of candidates published in the RAS newspaper Poisk in June, but then she changed her mind and withdrew her candidacy, a source in the RAS apparatus said. The highest-ranking security official elected as a member of the law department was Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs - Head of the Investigation Department Alexander Savenkov.
According to Paltsev, several major designers graduated from the Russian Academy of Sciences. “Since they head state-owned enterprises, their status is that of civil servants, but they, naturally, are engaged in science, they develop weapons. This is military science,” he explained.
Doctor of Biological Sciences, Deputy Minister of Education and Science Alexey Lopatin also became an academician, TASS reports. From 2006 to 2015, he was deputy director for scientific work at the Paleontological Institute. A. A. Borisyak RAS.
In addition to Fisun, the corresponding members in October were Konstantin Kotenko, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Head of the Main Medical Directorate of the Presidential Administration, who was previously the General Director of the Federal Medical Biophysical Center named after. A.I. Burnazyana, Doctor of Law, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Alexander Savenkov, Doctor of Law, Head of the Department of Registration and Archival Funds of the FSB Vasily Khristoforov, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Director of the Department of Science, Innovative Development and Management of Medical and Biological Health Risks of the Ministry of Health Sergey Rumyantsev. In addition, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Deputy Director of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Igor Sheremet became a corresponding member.
The day before, the head of state expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that representatives of law enforcement agencies and ministries entered the Academy of Sciences despite his ban. Business FM talked about this with the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Fortov
The building of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN) on Leninsky Prospekt. Photo: Igor Kubedinov/TASS
UPDATED 14:20
Officials or scientists? The Russian Academy of Sciences named the names of civil servants who became academicians and members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Sanctions can be harsh. The day before, Vladimir Putin threatened to dismiss officials who became academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences despite his ban on nominating candidates for this title.
Despite the request of the head of state, 14 civil servants became members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The chief scientific secretary of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician Mikhail Paltsev, told TASS about this. A total of 25 officials stood for election, he said.
According to the latest data from the Kommersant newspaper, Vladimir Putin answered “Yes” to the question whether he now intends to fire officials elected to the Academy of Sciences. The President noted that lawyers would think about the wording of the dismissal.
The Charter of the Russian Academy of Sciences does not provide for depriving officials of academic titles at their request, a source told RIA Novosti. If now civil servants want to give up the titles of academicians, there are no regulations for this, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Fortov confirmed to Business FM.
President of the Russian Academy of Sciences“If elected, you become a member of the Academy, an academician or a corresponding member until death. Leaving the civil service - I don’t know, this is a subject of negotiations. I don’t think about it, probably some options are possible. In fact, as I understand it, they have already made a choice, when the president did not advise doing this, they went, then they made a choice. None of the civil servants applied. I don’t want to talk about this topic now. It turns out that I am having a discussion with the president. The President said everything very definitely; I have nothing to add.”
Earlier, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov also commented on the situation.
Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration - Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation“The issue is on the agenda. Now this situation is being dealt with, the president has clearly stated his position, all relevant departments have clearly listened to what he said. There is legislation of the Russian Federation, and that is why we just need to think through all these nuances now, but the final goal is clearly outlined by the president.”
The Academy of Sciences noted that among the nominated officials were the head of the Ministry of Health, Veronika Skvortsova, and the Tambov governor, Alexander Nikitin, but they withdrew their candidacies. The scientific director of the State Archives, Sergei Mironenko, participated in the elections, but could not pass them.
The highest-ranking security official elected as a member of the law department was Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Savenkov. As a source told Vedomosti, “this is a very cautious person who even eliminated the press service in his department, and if he really knew about the president’s instructions, he would not have been elected.”
The head of the main military medical department of the Ministry of Defense, Alexander Fisun, entered the Academy. He, as reported on the Ministry of Defense website, is the author of 350 scientific articles.
The title of academician was given to Doctor of Biological Sciences, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Education and Science Alexey Lopatin. Corresponding members of the RAS were the head of the main medical department of the presidential administration Konstantin Kotenko, the head of the registration and archival collections department of the FSB Vasily Khristoforov, the director of one of the departments of the Ministry of Health Sergei Rumyantsev and the deputy director of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Igor Sheremet.
At first it was reported that the list of these officials also included the deputy head of Roshydromet, Alexander Makosko. However, the service itself reported that he does not serve in Roshydromet and has not been the deputy head of Roshydromet since 2014. Makosko now works at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Among those who became members of the Russian Academy of Sciences are a member of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Arnold Tulokhonov, as well as the head of the Main Military Medical Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Alexander Fisun.
“There 25 officials ran for office, 14 passed the elections, the rest did not pass. Tulokhonov (Arnold), a senator of the Federation Council, ran and passed. Then, Fisun (Alexander), the head of the main medical department of the Ministry of Defense, ran. He is a colonel, a professor, a very famous military scientist. Recently he became the head of the main medical department of the army,” Paltsev told TASS.
Tulokhonov received the title of academician in the department of earth sciences, in particular geography. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor and Head of the Department of Outpatient Care at the Institute for Advanced Medical Studies of the Moscow Scientific and Clinical Center named after. P. V. Mandryka Fisun became a corresponding member in the department of medical sciences, in the field of healthcare organization and medical education.
On Wednesday, at a meeting of the Council for Science and Education, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Fortov, why several officials were elected to the ranks of academicians, contrary to the presidential recommendation. He noted that he intends to provide such officials with “the opportunity to engage in science,” since their scientific activity is clearly much more important than “performing some routine administrative duties in government and government bodies.”
The head of state said that, contrary to his instructions, some representatives of the Administration of the Head of State, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the FSB and a number of other departments took part in the election to the Academy of Sciences.
Now Russian departments are looking for ways for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is dissatisfied with officials.
Meanwhile, the press secretary of the Russian president assessed the chances of officials elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences to maintain their posts at the same time. “There is no clarity on this issue yet,” he said, answering a question from Izvestia.
RAS President Fortov noted that he is confident in the high level of scientific knowledge that all selected members of the academy possess. And that every elected member of the RAS goes through a very complex and difficult procedure. His scientific merits are discussed in 11 different places, and a secret vote on this person takes place 6 times. “If the colleagues chose these people, then I have no reason to doubt their scientific level,” he said.
Paltsev added that the title of academician was given to Doctor of Biological Sciences, Deputy Minister of Education and Science Alexey Lopatin, who from 2006 to 2015 was deputy director for scientific work at the Paleontological Institute named after. A. A. Borisyak RAS.
In addition to Fisun, the corresponding members were Doctor of Medical Sciences, Head of the Main Medical Directorate of the Presidential Administration Konstantin Kotenko (formerly Director General of the Federal Medical Biophysical Center named after A.I. Burnazyan), Doctor of Law, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Alexander Savenkov, Doctor of Law, Head of the Department of Registration and Archival Funds of the FSB Vasily Khristoforov, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Director of the Department of Science, Innovative Development and Management of Medical and Biological Health Risks of the Ministry of Health Sergei Rumyantsev.
Also corresponding members were Doctor of Technical Sciences and Deputy Head of Roshydromet Alexander Makosko, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Deputy Director of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Igor Sheremet. And Olga Kovtun, who was elected as a corresponding member, served as Minister of Health of the Perm Territory until August 2016.
Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences are elected by voting for four years. You can keep this title if the scientist reports this and the majority votes for this decision during the General Meeting of the RAS.
Contrary to the Kremlin’s recommendations, several major Russian officials became academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN). These included the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Deputy Ministers of Education and Science. Life looked into which other high-ranking representatives of the Russian bureaucracy violated the direct order of the president, and also tried to find out their motives and reaction to a possible resignation.
Russian officials work day and night not only for the benefit of the country, but also for the benefit of domestic science. At least this is evidenced by the lists of academicians and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. These included deputy ministers of leading Russian departments, as well as other prominent civil servants.
Such zeal of officials for science caused bewilderment among President Vladimir Putin. Today, at a meeting of the relevant Presidential Council, he, in particular, said that he would give civil servants and officials who became academicians the opportunity to engage in science.
I will have to give them the opportunity to do science. Because, apparently, their scientific activity is more important than the performance of some routine administrative duties in government and government bodies,” the head of state explained his well-founded position.
Life analyzed the lists of current academicians and corresponding members of the Academy of Sciences and found at least five officials who in the near future will have to think about moving from responsible work in relevant ministries and departments to the Russian Academy of Sciences.
It is worth noting that during today’s meeting, RAS President Vladimir Fortov confirmed that several civil servants, namely “five to seven,” were elected to the Academy.
Five to seven people, that's it. “It depends on how you count,” Fortov said, pointing out that their future work in government positions depends on the decision of the head of state. - I believe that this is a question for the president and how satisfied he is with his employees and whether there are any complaints against them.
One of the newly minted academicians, for example, is Deputy Minister of Education and Science Alexey Lopatin. He is a full member of the RAS, he was elected again just recently - along with everyone else, at the end of October 2016.
Lopatin’s colleague in the ministry, Lyudmila Ogorodova, is also listed as corresponding members of the RAS. Only her term of office began in 2014.
In turn, the director of the Ministry’s Information Policy Department, Andrei Emelyanov, did not answer Life’s question about whether Olga Vasilyeva’s deputies will leave the RAS or, conversely, leave their posts in the ministry.
The press service of the ministry asked Life correspondents to send a written request, which also ultimately received no response.
In addition, since 2016, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or, as he is also called, the “chief investigator” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Alexander Savenkov, has become a corresponding member of the RAS.
In principle, if Savenkov is transferred to work at the academy, he will not lose much. He is not a poor official; the family of the head of the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs declared 77.5 million rubles in income last year. True, the bulk of these funds, according to the declaration, were contributed to the family budget by the wife of a high-ranking police officer.
The press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs asked to send an official request.
Also, Vasily Khristoforov, head of the Department of Registration and Archival Funds of the FSB of Russia, was elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2016.
Life was unable to get a comment from Khristoforov: at the time of writing, he did not answer calls or SMS messages.
It is interesting that the list of corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences also includes Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova. However, she was elected long before entering the civil service - she received scientific status back in 2004. According to the director of the Department of Public Health and Communications of the Russian Ministry of Health Oleg Salagai, the Minister of Health did not take part in the elections to the academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2016.
The ban on election to academicianship and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences affects all officials, including governors.
This applies to everyone,” Putin explained to reporters, answering a corresponding question.
Life discovered that among the academicians and corresponding members there are indeed governors: the head of the Voronezh region Alexey Gordeev and the head of the Belgorod region Evgeny Savchenko.
In fact, this is not the first “yellow card” from the head of state for the Russian Academy of Sciences, which chose to violate Vladimir Putin’s instructions rather than quarrel with the influential bureaucratic class, giving them, contrary to all the president’s instructions, the opportunity to be elected to the Academy.
At the end of last year, Vladimir Putin already addressed his colleagues and the then President of the Academy of Sciences with a request.
I appealed to my colleagues with a request to refrain from participating in the elections of new members to the Academy of Sciences due to the fact that people who hold positions in government bodies, especially at the top levels, are employed or should at least be engaged in a serious manner , otherwise they are not able to fulfill their official duties and can only engage in scientific research in their free time, which practically does not remain for people who work conscientiously in administrative positions,” Putin recalls.
Nevertheless, a heated discussion broke out at the meeting between the Russian leader and the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences, during which President Putin directly asked the head of the Academy of Sciences about the scientific viability of the newly elected academic officials and their advisability of being in both academic and bureaucratic environments at the same time. In response to reasonable questions from the president, Vladimir Fortov only objected that all the elected academicians and corresponding members “said that they received permission.”
As a result, the heated discussion ended with the head of state actually raising the question of the continued stay of officials elected to the country’s highest scientific body in their current government posts due to “the more important nature of scientific activity than routine administrative work.”
Political scientist Oleg Matveychev notes that, unfortunately, the domestic Academy of Sciences has turned into a purely nomenklatura institution, where people do not engage in scientific activities, but sit and talk to each other about what respected people they are.
People enter the Academy of Sciences not for their scientific merits, but for old merits, for length of service, or officials who are given the title of academician as a sign of respect and honor. We can say that this entails a drain of personnel to the West. Young scientists, instead of advancing their careers in Russia using the RAS base, are forced to leave for the West. They have to do this because they rely on their superior academicians, not seeing further prospects,” he says, noting that the Russian Academy of Sciences should be engaged in scientific work, research, moving Russian science forward, and not be a bunch of honorary chairmen.
It is important for the President to solve the problem systematically: to force the Russian Academy of Sciences to free itself from ballast. This can be started by getting rid of officials at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Officials who work 16 hours a day certainly do not have the opportunity to engage in scientific activities. I am sure that these officials will resign from their duties as academicians and prefer civil service,” the political scientist explained.
