Russian Science in the 1990'S Internationalization
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TITLE : Russian Science in the 1990s : Internationalization, Democratization , Decentralization? AUTHOR: Paul R. Josephson Sarah Lawrence Colleg e THE NATIONAL COUNCI L FOR SOVIET AND EAST EUROPEA N RESEARC H 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N .W . Washington, D .C . 20036 PROJECT INFORMATION :* CONTRACTOR : Sarah Lawrence Colleg e PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR : Paul R. Josephso n COUNCIL CONTRACT NUMBER : 806-2 2 DATE : May 12, 1993 COPYRIGHT INFORMATIO N Individual researchers retain the copyright on work products derived from research funded b y Council Contract. The Council and the U.S. Government have the right to duplicate written report s and other materials submitted under Council Contract and to distribute such copies within th e Council and U.S. Government for their own use, and to draw upon such reports and materials fo r their own studies; but the Council and U.S. Government do not have the right to distribute, o r make such reports and materials available outside the Council or U .S. Government without th e written consent of the authors, except as may be required under the provisions of the Freedom o f Information Act 5 U.S.C. 552, or other applicable law. The work leading to this report was supported by contract funds provided by the National Council fo r Soviet and East European Research. The analysis and interpretations contained in the report are those of th e author. SUMMAR Y This is an advocacy paper for western assistance to the internationalization , democratization and decentralization of Russian science, already fitfully underway, as th e course that could bring Russian science out of its present crisis and best benefit the West . The author discusses the current state of these three directions, suggests a variety of form s assistance might take to promote each, and in passing criticizes the creation of Internationa l Science and Technology Centers in Moscow and Kiev, and the ITER fusion project, a s shortsighted and unlikely to succeed in their objectives (pages 10-12) . A crisis grips science in Russia . The political intrigues between President Bori s Yeltsin and his detractors have diverted the government's attention from science . The economic decay threatens its very foundations . Shortages of research materials, inability to repair already outdated equipment, even firings, institute closings and increasing internationa l isolation have resulted . The biological sciences seem particularly prone to these dangers . They have never carried the prestige of the physical sciences in Russia, nor, from the point of view of potential contributions to the economy, do they seem vital to policy makers who are used to seeing physics as king . The environmental sciences also carry a huge burden which they are unable to bear due to government policies and the economic downturn . Even the physical sciences keenly feel the current crisis . The crisis in Russian science can best be understood from the point of view of thre e interrelated processes: internationalization, democratization, and decentralization of science . These processes should be encouraged for a number of reasons . First, scientific activity ha s become increasingly international . For Russia, the internationalization of science should b e part and parcel of the efforts of the Yeltsin government to accelerate Russia's entry into th e international economic system, and of western efforts to assist this process . Norma l participation in international science will also serve as a confidence-building measure wit h the exchange of information about ongoing research valuable to all parties both from th e point of view of security and potential benefit to society . Internationalization will provide western governments, corporations, and individuals greater access to low-cost, high-qualit y scientific manpower . It will assist Russia in utilizing the word's scientific and technological achievements, and ensure Russian scientific priority and patents . Democratization and decentralization of Russia's scientific institutions and policy - making will ensure competition in a free marketplace of ideas, overcoming decades of domination of entire fields of research by one individual or institute . Decentralization an d democratization are likely to lead to a more rational balance between social and scientifi c interests and potentials, and challenge the past assumptions of the scientific and political elit e that science and technology, everywhere and always, are capable of solving problems of economic and social development . The author assumes that democratization and decentralization will lead both to some down-sizing of the Russian research enterprise and to greater emphasis on the biological sciences, overcoming decades of emphasis on big physics , metallurgy, and other physical sciences . He believes Russia should focus more of its resources on its health care and environmental problems, as well as on "small science" wher e it is more likely to be on the cutting edge of research than military-oriented big physics . In any event, there will be displacement and controversy and an open, decentralized process i s more likely to ensure a fair answer than when the process is closed . Finally, the author argues that western governments must join Russia in developin g policies to protect science from further disruptions. Humanitarian and utilitarian reasons are at the forefront. The world stands to lose great human and institutional scientific resource s with a great historical tradition . Owing to the low cost of labor, the financial contribution s of western partners would be small, while the returns promise to be great: both scientifi c results and political stability resulting from the contributions of science to economi c recovery . The paper's description of the three broad trends -- internationalization , democratization, and decentralization -- which characterize Russian science will, the autho r hopes, help provide a rational basis for policies, minimize wrong turns, and kee p expenditures to a minimum . Russian Science in the 1990s : Internationalization, Democratization, Decentralization ? Paul R. Josephson' Not for citation outside the U .S. Government without the author's permission . Draft - Comments Welcom e Introduction Every one has heard of the crisis which grips science in Russia . The political intrigues between President Boris Yeltsin and his detractors have diverted the government' s attention from science. The economic decay caused by high inflation and the uncertai n transition to market mechanisms from central planning threaten the very foundations o f Russian science. Shortages of research materials, inability to repair already outdate d equipment, even firings, institute closings and increasing international isolation have resulted . The biological sciences seem particularly prone to these dangers . They have never carried the prestige of the physical sciences in Russia, nor, from the point of view of potential contributions to the economy, do they seem vital to policy makers who are used to seeing physics as king . Biology, which labored for decades to overcome the damage done b y Lysenko, now faces more insidious forces . The Komarov Botanical Institute, which dates t o Peter the Great, houses perhaps the second largest collection of herbs in the world, an d publishes the renowned Botanical Journal, can barely heat or illuminate its facilities . Absent atmospheric controls, its centuries-old collections of herbal grasses are in ruins . During th e ' . The author would like to thank IREX, the Fulbright Hays Faculty Research Program, the Nationa l Council for Soviet and East European Research, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Nationa l Endowment for the Humanities for contributing to the research leading to this article: and Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY ; the Russian Research Center, Harvard University ; and the Dibner Institute for Scienc e and Technology, for providing homes to my efforts over the past few years . - 1 - Blockade of Leningrad in World War II scientists succeeded in protecting the collectio n better than today. The environmental sciences also carry a huge burden which they are unable to bea r due to government policies and the economic downturn . As the recent book by Murra y Feshbach and Alfred Friendly, Ecocide, all too vividly shows, the environment of the former Soviet Union (hereafter FSU) was destroyed by over seventy years of Soviet power . How can Russia's environmental scientists begin to face the problems of recovery in the curren t situation? Even the physical sciences keenly feel the current crisis . The Kurchatov Institute for Atomic Energy (now called the "Russian Scientific Center") would appear to have significan t advantages in weathering the storm . Its directors have long-term ties with the West, i n particular through the joint U . S ., European community, Japanese, and Russian fusio n project called ITER . The Kurchatov institute also has high visibility owing to the fact that i t was home to the Soviet atomic bomb project and nuclear energy industry. But its library, a real national treasure, has had to cancel hundreds of subscriptions, owing to the absence o f hard currency. Staffers believe the government "has no understanding of the situation ." 1 Physicists know too well the impact of inflation . A friend who works in one of the leadin g physics institutes in Russia complained to me, "I know a lady with a German shepherd . The dog earns 12,000 rubles a month to guard a car park .