Scientists, Engineers, and Track-Two Diplomacy A Half-Century of U.S.-Russian Interacademy Cooperation (2004) / Chapter Skim
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3. Emergence of the New Russia: High Expectations, Harsh Realities, and the Path Ahead
3. Emergence of the New Russia: High Expectations, Harsh Realities, and the Path Ahead
Pages 30-40
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From page 30... ...
Russian Minister of Science and Technology, 1998 The year 1991 was a tumultuous one in Moscow and throughout the former Soviet Union as the country, facing irreversible political cleavages and difficult financial problems, splintered into 15 independent states. The budgetary resources and the financial obligations of remnants of the former Soviet state immediately became the subject of disputes at the intergovernmental level, among commercial and noncommercial organizations, and between individuals who thought they had first rights to assets that suddenly belonged to everyone or to no one.
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From page 31... ...
Many scientists in the outlying republics considered the entire academy structure to be simply a mechanism to ensure Russian control over scientific activities throughout the Soviet Union, while giving the appearance that Moscow recognized the importance of local autonomy in addressing problems of special interest to the republics. Within this context of long-standing centrally controlled research, rampant financial chaos, and regional suspicions over the motivation of Moscow's science administrators, the future role and structure of all elements of the ASUSSR became a highly politicized issue.
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From page 32... ...
Within a few days, the signs on the academy doors were modified, a new academy president with close ties to President Yeltsin was installed, and research activities in Russia continued largely as in the past except that financial support from the government decreased precipitously.] Meanwhile, some scientists from within and outside the ranks of the Russian Academy of Sciences, based primarily in Moscow, were not satisfied with the direction the permanent Russian Academy of Sciences was taking.
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From page 33... ...
As the economic crisis made itself felt throughout the new Russia, the financial and physical conditions of the RAS and its institutes declined rapidly, although they were in better shape than most university laboratories and research institutes of the ministries. Many prominent American scientists with close ties to Russian investigators within the academy system began calling for dramatic actions by the U.S.
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From page 34... ...
These first interacademy efforts centered on "defense conversion" that is, finding opportunities for Russian defense enterprises to develop and manufacture products for the civilian market. Toward this end, an NRC committee undertook case studies of the commercial potential at two military aviation enterprises in Saratov Tantal and the Saratov Electromechanical Production Organization (SEPO)
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From page 35... ...
, in early 1992 the National Academy of Sciences brought together over 100 policy officials and technology specialists from the American science and technology community to consider how to energize Russia's rapidly declining research capability. They considered (1)
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From page 36... ...
The 1992 gathering of American specialists was only one in a series of meetings that set out to "save Russian science." However, even at this early date many leading Russian scientists found this objective far too broad and began calling for steps to save world-class "schools of Russian science." Subsequent interacademy meetings attended by RAS leaders and significant Russian government officials, as well as leading American officials and representatives of professional societies, were of special importance in such an effort. These meetings were held in Washington and Moscow during 1992 and 1993.
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From page 37... ...
nort for science . preserving unique specimen collections and data sets in various organizing outreach programs in Russia to stimulate public supdevising a mechanism to coordinate Western assistance programs that could help Russian science and technology activities.
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From page 38... ...
The new system under which Russian scientists would travel to the United States was simple, at least from Washington's perspective. The host American scientist would invite a Russian colleague to visit and then apply to the NAS for financial support.
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From page 39... ...
These suggestions included the establishment of electronic clearinghouses in the two countries to track cooperative projects, and thereby avoid unnecessary duplication, and an emphasis on exchanges in areas in which Russian institutions had different but complementary capabilities such as high-temperature superconductors, the physics and chemistry offullerenes, and energy conservation. One suggestion, which was adopted many years later on a limited basis, called for inviting Russian specialists to serve as members of NRC study panels (NRC, 1993a: 11.
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From page 40... ...
But as the opportunities for cooperation expanded dramatically, there was a significant danger that the quality of programs would decline. In some instances, Western enthusiasm to visit previously isolated geographic regions in Russia, to walk through closed facilities, and to drink vodka with new acquaintances with innovative achievements in their resumes pushed considerations of quality and the potential impact of new exchange activities into the background.
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