Russian Academy of Sciences 300th Anniversary & Science and Education Council Meeting Part II

Before and now.

The Council for Science and Education meeting is the second half of this delayed observance of Russia’s annual Day of Russian Science’s holiday on which many Russian scientific organizations have their founding date. The videoconference’s agenda included Russia’s Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development was discussed along with issues of financial support of domestic science, and development of Russian Science Foundation activities. All emphasis mine:

Vladimir Putin: Dear friends, good afternoon!

We traditionally hold a meeting of our council on the Day of Russian Science. It is established in honor of the foundation of our Academy of Sciences, and today it is 300 years old.

Before we begin, I would like to congratulate the members of the Council, as well as your colleagues and colleagues, and in fact all Russian scientists, on their professional holiday and on the anniversary of the Academy. And of course, all our citizens, whose interests science is designed to serve. I want to congratulate you on this event. 300 years old! This is a significant round date. Science in the truest sense of the word is the basis of development and progress. The entire scientific and technological sphere is of key importance for achieving our national goals, for improving the quality of people's lives, for the country's security, sovereignty and self-sufficiency.

Today, taking into account new challenges and challenges, we will have to determine current approaches, principles, and areas of work in the field of fundamental research and applied development for the future, for years to come.

Let me remind you that at the last meeting of the Council, we agreed to make changes to the Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development. Today I propose to discuss its updated version.

Taking into account our discussion, I ask you to make the necessary clarifications and additions and submit for signature within a week a draft decree approving this key document, which, I emphasize and remind you, we agreed on, is equated in its significance to the National Security Strategy.

What is fundamentally important: the decision to adjust the Strategy was made taking into account the profound political and technological transformations that are taking place in the world, as well as the unprecedented sanctions pressure on our country.

It is also obvious that the priorities of scientific and technological development should be closely linked to key challenges and tasks in the economy, social sphere, and security, and should be aimed at achieving our sovereignty in the broadest sense of the word: state, value, industrial, and, of course, technological.

I would like to emphasize once again that in key areas – the most important for the development of the country, to improve the quality of life of citizens-we need to provide ourselves with our own technologies, key components, materials and means of production, to establish the production of the entire line of necessary products, and where we have or may have unique competencies, we need to have leading positions in global markets.

Such approaches are clearly documented in the updated draft Strategy. These are the principles that should guide us in implementing our entire scientific and technological agenda.

In this regard, I consider it necessary to form an updated list of the most important and necessary high-tech technologies for the country and generally update the priority areas for the development of domestic science.

I ask the Government, together with the Presidium of the Council for Science and Education, to prepare relevant proposals, taking into account the long-term forecast of scientific and technological development. We will discuss the results of this work at the next council meeting this summer.

Dear colleagues!

It is obvious that the priorities outlined in the draft Strategy require fundamentally new approaches to science financing.

And here I will highlight the key and obvious thing: products, technologies, qualitative changes in the economy and in people's lives should be an indicator of the effectiveness of implementing any scientific program.

I can say that we already have a positive experience, when the joint efforts of the state, science, and business managed to achieve just such significant, popular results.

Many examples can be given, but as for such an area as food security, after the actual failure, the loss of the domestic breeding industry in the 90s of the last century, we now have a growing number of domestic poultry farms that breed our own meat breed of chickens, experts know about this, "Smena-9". Its breeding is a great success of Russian scientists and breeders.

Another significant achievement from a completely different field is in the field of nuclear energy. Rosatom has already started the installation of the world's first closed-cycle power plant without nuclear waste. It is based on absolutely new principles and the latest eco-friendly technologies of both traditional nuclear and thermonuclear energy.

In other areas of our development, we must also achieve significant and convincing results, and control over their achievement and compliance with the established deadlines should be as strict as possible. In particular, it is necessary to use effective mechanisms in the allocation of funds allocated to science.

In this regard, I would like to mention the Russian Science Foundation. We will also discuss its development strategy today. I would like to note that the Russian Science Foundation traditionally imposes strict requirements on the selection of projects and on the research results themselves, demonstrates the best practices of scientific expertise, and therefore it is fundamentally important that the foundation continues to work as an effective tool for supporting scientists, including young ones – those who are just starting their way in science.

We have expanded the RSF's mandate. In addition to supporting basic research, the foundation finances key applied projects starting in 2023.

There are also significant results here. Last year, due to new technical solutions, it was possible to significantly increase the production of ultra-high-frequency electronics, and very soon it is planned to launch the first products based on domestic photonic integrated circuits, which will allow Russia to increase its self-sufficiency in the field of electronics. The Government is now doing a lot of research on these issues.

Such results were achieved, among other things, thanks to fruitful cooperation with the largest companies and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In this regard, I ask other ministries, departments, and state corporations to actively cooperate and build a long-term partnership with the Russian Science Foundation.

In this regard, I propose to carry out a competitive selection of projects in the civil sphere mainly through the Russian Science Foundation. This is the first one.

Second. I believe that it is necessary to increase funding for applied projects supported by the foundation. And to do this not by redistributing resources of the state program for scientific and technological development, but to think about additional sources.

I understand that only yesterday the Government and I discussed the budget and our priorities. This is not an easy task. But still, we need to think about it and move in this direction. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain the amount of support for the foundation's fundamental programs.

In general, I would like to mention the financing of domestic science. In terms of public spending on science, our country occupies one of the leading places in the world. Now I won't say exactly where it is located, but in general this is a fair point, on one of the leading places in the world. At the same time, the total amount of government spending on research and development for civilian purposes in the next three years will exceed one and a half trillion rubles. [~$17 Billion]

In the budget for the current year, of course, we have added funds for the development of science. But those who are engaged in financing, and even in science, understand that in real terms, spending on science is still decreasing a little, it has decreased a little, I mean the necessary adjustment for inflation, and as a percentage of GDP.

Therefore, I ask the Government to consider expanding financial support for Russian science. This is a very important question. Fundamental things, without being solved, will make it impossible for us to move in any direction. And the achievement of the national development goals, which we talk about all the time and are doing the right thing, is also unlikely to be possible without solving the tasks in the area that we are considering today, it is unlikely that we will be able to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves, the high bar that we set for ourselves.

Let's move on to the agenda. The floor is given to Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. Please, please, Dmitry Nikolaevich.

: Thank you very much.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

The strategy of scientific and technological development was approved by you back in 2016 and has proved its effectiveness, timely identifying the global challenges that science faces. This allowed us to correctly set scientific priorities and focus our efforts on critical areas.

To meet the challenges outlined in the Strategy, in accordance with your decree, the national project "Science and Universities" was formed in 2018. Its tools have ensured the support and cooperation of leading research teams and the implementation of solutions developed by them in our economy. Thanks to the activities of the national project, it was also possible to significantly update the instrument base of leading scientific organizations to 50 percent, and also, for example, in 2023, for the first time in the history of our country, to reverse the trend of reducing the number of studies.

In 2022, we all faced unprecedented pressure on our scientific field, and the key goal of sanctions was to cut off our country from cutting-edge technology. A year ago, at the council, you instructed to update the Strategy, and on your instructions, the Ministry of Education and Science, together with the Academy of Sciences, the Kurchatov Institute, and relevant departments, prepared a new version of the Strategy, which clarifies its main provisions. The draft was also significantly improved by the editorial team on behalf of the Presidium of the Council for Science and Education.

First of all, as you said, we have set out the key task of ensuring all types of sovereignty. This is one of the six tasks that you have given the Government in 2022. One of them is technological sovereignty, and we understand it as the presence in the country under our national control of critical and end-to-end technologies, our own development lines, production conditions based on them, which ensure a sustainable opportunity for the state and society to achieve national goals and implement our national interests. To do this, the Government has already taken a number of measures on your instructions, for example, the concept of technological development has been approved, and a number of specific projects have been launched in accordance with it.

On your behalf, ten projects for the development of end-to-end technologies, such as new materials, neurotechnologies, artificial intelligence, and so on, are being implemented on the basis of an agreement between the Government and leading companies.

We have also identified 11 major projects-we call them "megaprojects" - of technological sovereignty in such critical industries as machine tools, microelectronics, drones, low-tonnage chemicals, engine building, and others. In each of these projects, the Government has approved a methodology-together with Denis Valentinovich and myself-that determines the needs for personnel and R & D for each project.

The Federal Law on the Development of Small Technology Companies has also been adopted. There is a register where they are all listed, and work is also underway to create technology holdings.

Secondly, we propose to clarify, as you have instructed, the major challenges and priorities of scientific and technological development. The new challenges are primarily connected, of course, with the transformation of the world order that is taking place.

We see a transition to a multipolar world, and in order to respond to newly emerging threats and challenges, we propose to expand the list of priorities for scientific and technological development, taking into account technologies such as nature-like technologies, genetics, artificial intelligence, big data, as well as the response to eternal hybrid security threats.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, it is also proposed to reflect in the Strategy a mechanism that provides for the formation of a list of promising technologies, including critical technologies, necessary for each project to achieve it.

Third, it is proposed to reflect in the Strategy the management system that has already been de facto formed over the past three years in accordance with your individual instructions, and to reflect the functions of the Government Commission for Scientific and Technological Development established by your decree.

Taking into account the increased role of the Russian Academy of Sciences, we propose to create a scientific and technical council under the commission headed by Gennady Yakovlevich Krasnikov, which will provide expert and scientific support. In addition, the Strategy proposes to consolidate the institution of deputies and heads of departments who are personally responsible for scientific and technological development in their areas of supervision and activity. It has already been formed on your instructions. Now it is necessary to fix it in a regulatory manner, so that there is a unification of the duties of such deputies and the requirements for them.

In addition, in accordance with your instructions, the institute of leading scientific organizations is provided for regulatory consolidation, which will make it possible to form uniform requirements for such organizations and determine the procedure for their appointment. Of course, we will also be guided by the vast experience of the Kurchatov Institute, the leading scientific organization in many key programs, for example, the Federal Scientific Research Center in the field of genetics, agriculture, and synchrotron research.

The implementation of the Strategy will be carried out through the implementation of the state program No. 47 - "Scientific and Technological Development", in which, on your instructions, funds for scientific research have already been consolidated and all measures to support research and development have been collected.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, I ask you to support the new Strategy as a whole, the revision of the Strategy in accordance with what you have said, and if any additions are made now, we will promptly finalize and submit the draft decree to you.

Thank you, the report is over.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. Please, Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Nikolaevich Falkov.

V. : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear participants of the meeting,

In continuation of the question of adjusting the Strategy of Scientific and Technological development, I would like to report on the development of competitive financing for research and development.

For 6 years, from 2017 to 2023, actual federal budget expenditures for research and development support increased by 68 percent – from 355 to 597 billion rubles, and competitive support-from 32 to 146 billion rubles. Its share in science spending increased from 9 percent to 24 percent. This indicates that along with government assignments and procurement, grant support is one of the most popular ways to finance science. The range of competitive financing tools was also constantly expanding: from 6 tools in 2017 to 29 tools in 2024. The total amount of funding this year will be $ 166 billion.

I will take a closer look at the four main areas of grant support and suggestions for improving them.

First. You have already mentioned the experience of developing grant support from the Russian Science Foundation. In 2019, the merger of state research funds and integration of grant support into the Russian Science Foundation system was completed. The amount of the property contribution to the Russian Science Foundation increased from 22.9 billion rubles in 2019 to 31.6 billion rubles for basic research in 2024.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, following the results of the last meeting of the Council, you gave instructions to expand the capacity of the Russian Science Foundation to finance not only fundamental and exploratory research, but also development and technological work. As part of the testing of the new tool in 2023, the fund was allocated 1.5 billion rubles for applied research in microelectronics. The target customer was the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia. The principal condition for allocating funds in this area of support is the presence of a specific enterprise that can undertake to ensure the production of high-tech products, that is, a guarantee of the use of the obtained scientific results.

The Foundation has provided appropriate legal support, reconfigured the expertise system, and launched pilot projects with our leading technology companies. At the same time, the total time from the moment of decision-making to the launch of projects based on the results of competitive procedures was less than three months. This year, the amount of support for these projects will amount to 2.5 billion rubles.

It is important to note that the current business interest exceeds the current financial capabilities of the fund, and therefore the replication of the experience gained in other industries that are important for achieving technological sovereignty is possible with an increase in the property contribution to the Russian Science Foundation to support promising applied research and development across the entire line of strategic initiatives.

The second is updating the instrument base of scientific and educational organizations.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, in 2018 you set a task to update at least 50 percent of the instrument base of leading scientific and educational organizations by the end of 2024. This task was formulated in Decree No. 204. The task is being successfully implemented within the framework of the national project "Science and Universities". Finally, since 2023, the share of updates has already exceeded 50 percent. By the end of this year, 2024 will be about 60 percent.

At the same time, starting from 2021, we are consistently increasing the requirements for the percentage of domestic equipment purchased by organizations. This year – at least 25 percent. The quality of the results of scientific activity directly depends on the working conditions of the scientist, the availability of modern equipment. We propose to maintain this measure of support, while setting the requirements for purchased Russian-made scientific instruments at the level of at least 50 percent.

It is also important to note that the implementation of this task is possible thanks to the implementation of a federal project starting from 2023, a separate new federal project for the development of domestic instrumentation for scientific research, developed on your behalf. Currently, together with the Russian Academy of Sciences, we are working on approaches to implementing this tool in the next cycle.

The third is the implementation of strategic initiatives of the President in the scientific and technological sphere.

Grant support tools also play an important role in the implementation of presidential strategic initiatives in the scientific and technological sphere. We are talking about federal scientific and technical programs and major innovative projects. So, in accordance with your decree, since 2019, the Federal Scientific Research Center for the Development of Gentechnologies has been implemented, within the framework of which three genomic research centers have been created and operate in four areas of the program: "Biosafety and ensuring technological independence", "Genetic Technologies for agricultural Development", "Genetic Technologies for Medicine", "Genetic Technologies for medicine". technologies for industrial microbiology".

In order to develop grant financing, in addition to the established world-class centers, since 2021, targeted grant support is provided for 15 projects for the creation and development of all types of bioresource collections – more than 50 organizations participate in them, and 22 research programs – 90 scientific and educational organizations participate in them. One of the activities of research programs for the first time on a systematic basis in our country was the development of scientific volunteering. This made it possible to involve more than 32.5 thousand volunteers in all these events, involve schoolchildren and students in research, increase their motivation, and make a professional choice in favor of genetics. This experience was successfully scaled up as part of one of the initiatives in the Decade of Science and Technology you announced.

When discussing the development of competitive support tools, it is important to provide for the use of common approaches to the selection and implementation of projects in the future. This will provide an opportunity for flexible resource management, that is, it is proposed to form a single grant for research and development for the implementation of all strategic initiatives of the President of the Russian Federation in the scientific and technological sphere.

And finally, the fourth. Creation of laboratories under the leadership of young promising researchers, whose selection is carried out on a competitive basis. This tool has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms for attracting and consolidating young people in science.

Within the framework of the national project "Science and Universities", 940 such laboratories have been created, and I would like to note that this year 30 such laboratories will start functioning in scientific and educational organizations in the reunited regions of the Russian Federation. The selection process takes into account not only the scientific significance of the project, but also the demand of the real sector of the economy, and also involves the industry's academic expert community. I note that this tool is in demand among young researchers. On average, the competition is about five applications per laboratory, and in some areas it reaches up to nine or ten. Many laboratories were selected three or four years ago, and when we analyze their activities, we see that, on the one hand, they provide an opportunity for aspiring researchers to gain a foothold in science, but, most importantly, through these laboratories we get the result that is in demand by industries.

Summing up, it should be noted that in recent years, grant support mechanisms have provided a wide range of tools and the ability to focus research on given strategic priorities. Therefore, I think it is necessary to consider the possibility of maintaining measures to support scientific research beyond 2024, including as part of the President's strategic initiatives in the scientific and technological sphere in new versions of certain tools. And, taking into account the results obtained, consider increasing the level of financial support for these measures.

In conclusion, Mr President, I would like to note that as part of the update of the Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development, the role of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the scientific and technological agenda is being strengthened. Starting from 2021, which was declared the Year of Science and Technology, we have recorded a steady interest of regional leaders in the scientific and technological sphere.

Pursuant to your instructions, following the results of the joint meeting of the State Council and the Council for Science and Education, which was held in February 2020, every year, starting from 2022, the Commission for Scientific and Technological Development forms a national rating of scientific and technological development of subjects and analyzes regional programs related to supporting science, identifying and replicating best practices and an assessment of the regions ' efforts in scientific and technological development.

Competitive support tools play a significant role in the programs. Regional funds for support of scientific and technical activities, established, for example, in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Tula regions, the Republic of Tatarstan and other regions, are a good example here.

It is the development of grant financing tools, taking into account the scientific and industrial specifics of the region, that will help strengthen the role of subjects in achieving Russia's technological sovereignty.

The report is over. Thank you for your attention.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Please, Gennady Yakovlevich Krasnikov, Academy of Sciences.

G. Krasnikov: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear members of the Council for Science and Education,

I would also like to focus on the development of competitive funding for research and development in accordance with the Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development-a project that Dmitry Nikolaevich presented today.

Today, almost half of all budget funds (47 percent) allocated for research and development go to the implementation of state tasks.

In this regard, we are improving the mechanism for forming state tasks. When forming research topics, we added a new criterion to the existing criteria (publication activity) – the demand for scientific results, which meets today's realities. This is also consistent with the draft Strategy for Scientific and technological Development under discussion, in which the Academy of Sciences takes an active part and where the concept of "qualified customer" is already spelled out.

We are also changing the approach to setting research topics. Previously, institutes chose their own topics from the priorities offered by the Academy. However, our analysis showed that in this case, only a third of the entire list of priorities is paid. The current situation requires us to plan more in-depth research, so where several applications from the institute are submitted for one topic at once (sometimes up to 60 or more), we will conduct a rating and select the best works. And we will recommend other topics recommended by the Academy of Sciences ' thematic departments in accordance with their scientific competencies to the institutes whose works were lower in the rating. In this way, we will cover all areas of research and make better use of budget resources.

Separately, I would like to say a few words about the scientific and methodological leadership of the Institute. This topic is now central to us. We believe that all institutes that are under our scientific and methodological guidance should follow the same rules and strictly follow the recommendations of the Academy of Sciences, regardless of their departmental affiliation. This applies, among other things, to the selection of research topics, improvement of the instrument and analytical base, as well as recommendations of the Academy of Sciences on personnel issues.

A few words about another important area of competitive financing, this is the sixth subprogram-on financing fundamental and exploratory research in the interests of national defense and state security. It was launched in October last year. This is a great achievement of Deputy Prime Ministers Dmitry Chernyshenko and Denis Manturov.

When preparing it, we have already chosen the right approach. From the very beginning, we have identified a qualified customer for each work, taking into account the corresponding emerging technological chains. Within the framework of this subprogram, expert groups of the Scientific coordination Council are selected on a competitive basis based on the priorities of scientific research. In addition to members of the Academy, they include representatives of law enforcement agencies: the Ministry of Defense, the FSB and others, general designers and heads of priority technological areas.

Another very important program is the financing of large scientific projects, which amount to 100 million rubles a year. Taking into account the previous positive experience, together with the Ministry of Education and Science, we have launched a new competition with funding of more than 4 billion rubles a year from this year.

At the scientific councils under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, we defined the selection criteria and detailed the directions of scientific research, taking into account the demand for the results of work and new opportunities for cooperation between scientific organizations. We are currently reviewing the topics submitted by the contest. I can say that more than 300 applications have been submitted and it covers more than 1000 organizations. There are several other areas of funding. These are the Russian Science Foundation, world-class research centers, and the Advanced Research Foundation.

Taking into account that Valery Nikolaevich has already told us about the Russian Science Foundation, I would like to add that the Academy of Sciences is also actively involved in the formation of the foundation's topics, and we are also working with the Advanced Research Foundation in competitive selection procedures for financing research and development.

In conclusion, I would like to say that today we are working together with the Ministry of Education and Science in full mutual understanding, and we have also started holding operational meetings with the participation of the Academy's management and the Ministry. We also have a full understanding with the Office for Scientific and Educational Policy of the Presidential Administration, and today we are trying to resolve many issues in a working manner.

Thanks for your attention!

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Please, Andrey Aleksandrovich [Fursenko], Assistant to the President.

Alexey Fursenko: Thank you.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

We started talking about Strategy. I would like to emphasize once again that from the very beginning of its development, the Strategy was a framework document defining the goals, basic principles, directions, stages, and expected results of scientific and technological development. But from the very beginning, of course, it was assumed that the Strategy should be supplemented by appropriate specific implementation mechanisms.

During the Strategy's implementation, systematic conditions were created for scientific and technological development in response to external challenges, a solid management vertical was formed, a system for planning and implementing scientific and technical policy, its core, as already mentioned, is a single state program "Scientific and Technological development" and a government commission under the leadership of Dmitry Nikolayevich Chernyshenko. The Academy of Sciences is doing a lot of work to implement the Strategy.

I would like to note that the main difficulty in this work was and remains the accelerated restructuring of the entire system for urgent tasks that are urgent. And today, starting in 2022, these tasks have become more complex and partially changed. During the Strategy's existence, we have been offered new tools and they have shown their effectiveness.

First of all, I would like to mention federal scientific and technical programs. Two programs on agriculture and genetics, whose council leaders are present at the council today, have shown their effectiveness. The projects of the Russian Science Foundation you mentioned are also quite successful. But the main problem was and still is the transition of original scientific ideas to technologies and the corresponding implementation of technologies in the form of the production of specific products.

Thus, the focus of the Strategy remains on the most complex, high-risk stage of the technological cycle, as with minimal, first of all, time costs – first of all, it is temporary today, not even monetary – to create such a high-tech technology that could ensure not only import substitution, but also the rapid development of key industries for Russia. We are talking about the initial stage of this process. In general, the process of technology development from basic research to production is characterized by stages of technology development levels. So, in this regard, what we are discussing now concerns first of all, probably, the first five levels. And it is extremely important, as they say, to have a seamless link between these levels and the next levels that we are already talking about, first about pilot ones, and then about large-scale batches of a particular product. But we cannot do without this first cycle, which has always had really difficult problems, even in the Soviet Union. This is exactly what the new version of the Strategy is aimed at today.

Moreover, the new round of aggravation of the foreign policy layer has set us the task of accelerating the development of domestic high-tech solutions not only in areas that are vital for us, but also in those areas that will ensure the country's competitiveness in the future. The Strategy is aimed precisely at solving these problems.

And I want to say one more thing, just like the previous versions, the Government prepared it in close conjunction not only with the presidium of our council, but also with the scientific community and business representatives. And the document that is on your table today, on the table of the council members, is the result of quite complex work, some compromise solutions in some issues, which nevertheless allow us, as it seems to us, to achieve the results set out above.

I finished my report. Thanks

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Dear colleagues!

Each of the participants of our meeting today has the opportunity to express their views and express their position on our further joint work in the priority areas that have just been discussed.

But I would like to hear what the people who directly carry out this work on the ground, organize this work, think about it: from the level of the head of the laboratory, the researcher, the director of the lyceum. In this case, I am referring to Maxim Petrovich Nikitin, who is not just a researcher, but a leading researcher.

Maxim Petrovich, please.

Mikhail Nikitin: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

Of course, I think this adjustment, or a new version of the Strategy that focuses on the "seamless" translation from the idea of some research to the result – is very important. I would also point out some very specific points, which are already a little further looked at when we go in and start thinking about sales of specific scientific devices and so on.

In December, at the Congress of young scientists, my colleague Elizabeth presented to you a small part of the achievements in scientific instrumentation, which, in my opinion, has developed very actively and rapidly in 2022-2023. Of course, the state is now very actively supporting instrument-making, low-tonnage chemistry, and so on, and, in particular, subsidies from the Ministry and grants from the Russian Popular Front. But at the same time, a sharp increase in the price of foreign devices and an increase in logistics costs in 2022 played an important role. That is why, in particular, we have seen the very significant increase in the purchase of domestic equipment that Valery Nikolaevich mentioned.

However, at the end of 2023, we see the following: logistics chains have been lined up, and mostly Chinese scientific instruments have entered our market very actively, which at the same time began to develop very actively. And now we have to compete not with the high price of Western devices, but with the very low price of Chinese, in general Asian, probably, countries that have very cheap production. They are very active in price dumping and have a significantly larger market than our Russian producers. As a result, it is important for us now, with the arrival of Chinese manufacturers, not to lose the momentum that we gained in 2022.

And what do I want to mention here? That now there is an unexpected situation that a foreign device, when it comes to us, is subject to a duty of 10-20 percent and VAT, as well as Russian devices. If we deduct VAT, do not take into account VAT, then, in fact, 90 percent of the price in the case of a foreign device simply goes abroad and, as it were, leaves the Russian economy.

At the same time, Russian producers mostly spend money on salaries, and about 33 percent is returned to the budget. That is, we pay social security and personal income tax, and after that, 66 percent of the funds still remain in the Russian economy.

But at the same time, when our purchases are made under federal laws No. 223 and No. 44, this difference is not taken into account. And even if we all understand that the Russian device is 5 percent more expensive, we do not have the right to buy it, that is, we still need to buy Chinese ones and take these 90 percent abroad, which is not good. And here I would like to normalize some kind of tool. It is clear that it is possible to increase duties, but this may not be very good from the point of view of commercial organizations, from the point of view of the Customs Union, and so on. And I came up with an idea of how this could be implemented.

If we impose an additional tax on purchases within the framework of Federal Law No. 223, the money from which goes to the fund, which returns the money back to the renewal of the instrument base, and part of this money goes to the development of the instrument industry. That is, we, as if raising the price of foreign devices, this difference, delta, 33 percent (we need to calculate the figures in detail), return it back to the budget and give it back to both instrument makers and Russian organizations for the purchase of the same Russian one. Thus, this tool will not prohibit the purchase of very high-quality, cool foreign equipment, but will very actively support the Russian manufacturer.

Then there's the second sentence. It is very important now to clearly define what is "Russian" and what is "not Russian". The Ministry of Industry and Trade has a very good register of Russian manufacturers, but, unfortunately, entry is very difficult. That is, a small company that has, say, two developers, a small candle factory that produces everything from start to finish in Russia, can not be included in this list at all, because it needs a quality control department, to issue all documents in accordance with GOST, and so on. If we really think about how to clearly define what is "Russian" and what is "non-Russian", even if a company of two people can be identified as a Russian manufacturer, we will, of course, very much maintain the momentum that was gained in 2022, and we will be able to build a very cool industry that will be able to meet the needs of the Russian market. I am sure it will reach the point of exporting our technologies and conquer the entire world market with our scientific instrumentation.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much for your ideas and suggestions.

I will now ask my colleagues from the Government to comment. Denis Manturov – about how to de-bureaucratize our small businesses in this area and make it more efficient. And Siluanov Anton Germanovich - about how we can create favorable conditions for our producers in the financial sector.

It is clear that any manufacturers, and manufacturers from the People's Republic of China, are our friends, they are fighting for markets, including the Russian market, and they are doing the right thing. And we need to create appropriate conditions for the favorable development of our own production, so here you just need to set up these tools. After all, initially these decisions that you mentioned were aimed at ensuring that in the conditions of these restrictions and illegal sanctions, we would not have any gaps here, so that the market would be filled with the necessary equipment, this is understandable, so favorable conditions were created for our foreign partners. And I think we did the right thing. Now there is an opportunity and a need to correct certain issues related to regulation, so that our producers do not feel like strangers on this holiday of life. So, of course, we need to do this, we need to take the necessary steps.

As for the second part of the question you raised about access to certain regulatory tools for our small manufacturers, this applies not only to the production of scientific instruments, but also to all other industries. There is nothing so unusual here, and this can also be easily corrected. I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Industry and Trade to comment on this issue.

Please, Denis Valentinovich.

Dmitry : Thank you very much, Mr President.

I am sure that we can find a solution here due to the fact that the main work here is carried out by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we have authorized them in this part-to determine the origin of products.

Taking into account the fact that they have an extensive network of territorial bodies, we will work with them to provide direct support for small businesses and methodically help them prepare all the necessary documents that are sent to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Well, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry contributes refined products to the Ministry, and we automatically add them to the register. Therefore, I am confident that we will resolve this issue with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, but nothing should be forgotten. We will note this in the decisions of our meeting today.

Anton Germanovich, about the part that concerns your sphere, including customs.

A. Siluanov : Thank you, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich.

Just today, the Government considered the issue of amendments to the 44th and 223rd laws, which provided for the provision of additional preferences in the procurement of what is produced in our country, Russian. The so – called "second extra" rule will now apply after the adoption of the corresponding amendments to 44 and 223: if both a foreign supplier and a Russian one participate, preferences are immediately granted to the Russian product. In addition, a price preference is also provided, and the amount of the price preference will be plus 15 percent. That is, if a Russian product is even slightly more expensive than a foreign one, the advantage will still be given to the Russian manufacturer. This also applies, of course, in terms of scientific products and technologies. This is the first one.

The second proposal was the following: let's do something like an import duty on imports and create a mechanism for accumulating these funds for the development of our technologies. Here you can see: import duties, I don't know, but something like scrap collection. We already have this experience. I think that together with our colleagues in the Government, we will work out and prepare proposals, Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin: Here, in the first part of what you said, you can create financial preferences and 15 percent. If our device is more expensive, then you can buy it, or you can, on the contrary, impose some additional fee on a foreign device for the same amount and send these funds to the fund we talked about. Here different options are possible, you just need to think. You just need to make decisions without delay, okay? Thank you very much.

About schools, lyceums, and so on. That's where it all starts. Please, Maxim Yakovlevich Pratusevich.

Mikhail Pratusevich: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues,

I have two considerations, and one of them concerns not schools and lyceums, but the proposed draft Strategy. I dare to say – there are many brilliant lawyers in the community-that a "legal bulldozer" is needed to deal with the legal problems associated with the introduction of new technologies in a timely manner. The most illustrative example is, for example, what is happening with unmanned transport, with unmanned aircraft. We are only now preparing a government decree, while self-driving cars with a driver who sits for control have been driving for many years. And there are many such examples when the development of science and technology is ahead of the legislative framework. And I think that legal support for all this would be useful and necessary.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that now, unfortunately, there is a tendency to reduce the choice of students-graduates of natural-mathematical and physical education, engineering education. This is reflected in a decrease in the number of people who choose the Unified State Exam in specialized mathematics or physics, and the USE of choice is needed for admission to the institute, and this means that they choose specialties that are not related to scientific and technological development. It seems to me that in this situation, returning to the "legal bulldozer", it is necessary to provide for facilitating and expanding the opportunities for internships and internships for schoolchildren at universities, scientific institutions, companies, because at the moment this organization is associated with a large number of obstacles, which are certainly important, they are connected with responsibility for life and well-being. health, with some costs, and so on. But nevertheless, it is important and useful so that students can join some kind of scientific and technological work already at the school level. And the example of what is happening in Sirius, Big Challenges, shows that often their developments are quite suitable for going into a wide series.

The second point. I think it is important that we pay special attention, and maybe it should be some kind of state program to attract teachers – first of all, mathematics and physics-to school. We are now, especially with physics teachers, the country is quite bad. This is due to the fact that this is a rather complex subject. At one time, there were decisions that it can be excluded as a separate subject and combined into a natural science course. Not everywhere there are modern physics laboratories, and, most importantly, methodological support is also "lame", so it seems to me that there should be some kind of systematic program throughout the country designed to ensure a decent level of teaching of natural and mathematical disciplines.

And the result of implementing this program should also be an increase in the number of people choosing the appropriate specialties, an increase in the number of people who pass the main state exam after the 9th grade in physics, chemistry, biology, so that we can continue this in the long term… That is, it will give its results only in ten years, but it needs to be done.

One of the examples currently exists, and we also considered it at the United Russia Commission on Education. In order for a future student to become a physics teacher, they need to pass the Unified State Exam in Russian, specialized mathematics and social Studies, physics is not included there. Accordingly, this is not very good, it can be solved without much cost and thus, perhaps, attract more trained people, graduates, to this path.

I believe that staffing, plus popularization, plus popularization of people of science, that is, we need, I'm not afraid of this word, a new film "Nine Days of one year", which will be dedicated to engineers, modern IT specialists and so on. It seems to me that this should be such a state program. We will teach our children, and it will be important for us to pass them on to good hands, so that they can go to these good hands and continue to be taught there.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Maxim Yakovlevich, thank you very much.

I subscribe to every word that has been said here. We all understand that this is very important, and that's where it all starts. Question – how do we do this? How to set up this process?

In Soviet times, this was easier to solve, because the party said it was necessary, the Komsomol answered… And all, and went.

Oddly enough, it is increasingly difficult to organize in our conditions, but without the allocation of appropriate administrative and financial resources, we will never be able to solve this task, and it is one of the most key.

Sergey Kravtsov, how will we work in this area?

Sergey Kravtsov: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

This is a really important area, but I want to say that all subjects are important – physics, history, and social studies – in order to form a broad outlook for future students.

What has already been done? Vladimir Vladimirovich, on your instructions, we have implemented a single minimum standard for the quality of education in all schools, and this is very important. Since 2020, programs have been approved so that every student ... Previously, virtually every school determined how to study physics or history. Since this academic year, schools have been working on unified programs, which we discussed with the scientific community, with teachers and methodologists, and the winners of the Teacher of the Year contest took part, as you mentioned.

Secondly, as far as the material and technical base is concerned. You are absolutely right, this issue is important, and it is being resolved within the framework of a national project. We have created more than 300 "Quantoriums", regional centers "Sirius" and so on.

As for physics and physics teachers, this is an important question, and the choice of the Unified State Exam. I want to say that our Unified State Exam score has significantly increased from 49 to 56 in mathematics, and this is very important in specialized mathematics. In physics, we have a 55-point GPA. But those guys who took physics didn't go anywhere, they moved on and began to take computer science, because information technologies began to develop, and the guys focused on information technologies.

Today we are conducting a program with Valery Nikolaevich to attract students to universities. On your behalf, we have been hosting career guidance classes "Russia-my Horizons" since September 1 (from the 6th to the 11th grade), where we also talk about achievements in the field of chemistry, physics, and biology.

Further. We shared what Maxim Yakovlevich said and discussed. Previously, Vladimir Vladimirovich, in high school there was a single subject-natural science. That is, it is not clear: chemistry, physics, biology. We returned, separately – the subject of physics, biology, chemistry, by branch of science. This was also done.

Further – about the popularization of science.

On Monday, a lesson dedicated to the Russian Academy of Sciences was held in all schools of the country. One of the developers of the quantum computer was just talking about science, about the possibilities of science in our country in order to attract scientific research. Evgeny Yakovlevich and I also discussed this issue on popularization, so that the children would understand the importance of science.

Therefore, such comprehensive work is already underway. Of course, we will strengthen it, and we will definitely discuss all those proposals with Maxim Yakovlevich once again, and we will move in this direction.

Thanks

Vladimir Putin: Everything is correct, and we know what is happening in this area. Of course, we need to pay attention to all subjects that form a full-fledged personality, a patriot, a person who loves the Motherland, is ready – and we now know that this is important in today's conditions-even for self-sacrifice, and so on, but we need specialists in every field.

Just one patriotic attitude is not enough for the country to be successful, you need both. So, of course, we need specialists, and what is happening now is that more attention is being paid to the issues of natural science and natural sciences, physics, chemistry, and mathematics.

You didn't mention the math, but this is the foundation of the basics. First of all, we need to continue this, and secondly, we need to listen to what Maxim Yakovlevich said. We need a closer connection between schools, universities, research centers and the economy. We need the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Education to talk to each other, please, with the Minister, with a colleague, too, about this issue. We need to build this program, but we just need to do it together with the regions.

Maxim Yakovlevich, what he said. He says, " How do you get from school to somewhere he needs to go?" No way. Who will pay for air tickets or even for a train ticket? Who will accompany the child back and forth? How do I do all this? These are all practical things, seemingly nonsense, but in practice, when people collide, everything gets up, nothing moves.

You gave Sirius as an example. Yes, it is built there, Sirius pays for the road, for accommodation, it is worked out there. But this is one center. Now we are trying to make a lot of such centers in the country, the country is large and you can't do everything on the Sirius platform. We need the state to do this at the level of ministries and departments. You also need to connect your regions.

We don't have much time right now, but the colleagues who are present at our meeting can hear me, and I would like to be heard in all regions of Russia. It is absolutely necessary to join this work at the regional level, and money should be allocated for this. I'm asking you to create a program. Thank you to Maxim Yakovlevich for raising this issue. We just need to create a program between ministries, regions, relevant higher education institutions, research centers, as I have already said, and our large companies. This is a very important job.

By the way, Viktor Antonovich, how is this work organized at Moscow State University? I know that you work quite closely with schoolchildren there.

V. Sadovnichy: Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

At Moscow State University, the main task of the faculties is youth schools, clubs, and Olympiads. We lead 87 school Olympiads, select students from all over the country, and there is mostly a remote form of elementary school, and thus the competition for Moscow University faculties reaches up to 40 people per place, that is, we are looking for talented children who are worthy.

The second program is Vernadsky. Vladimir Vladimirovich, you supported it at the congress of the Rectors ' Union. 37 regions-governors-have signed this program, and it consists of providing assistance in finding talented children, in improving the skills of teachers and teachers of higher educational institutions. This is a very effective program, it works, and about ten new regions want to join this program. So working with schoolchildren is definitely important.

But, Mr Putin, there is one suggestion that was not made. We set out to improve the concept of mathematical, biological, physical and chemical education. I have created methodological groups that include hundreds of scientists. And these concepts that we want to update – the concepts of this education-should take into account what you said, Mr Putin. It is necessary from the first grade, or maybe right from preschool age, to monitor how children can get what they want. Or even what they don't want, but teach them to get it. Therefore, I ask you to speed up the adoption of these concepts at the Government level. These are the recommendations of textbooks (what was mentioned), and recommendations of programs and standards. And this applies not only to schools, but also to higher educational institutions. The reason why we have sunk a bit in mathematics in recent years is mainly because we did not have any requirement for these standards. That is, everyone read mathematics as they saw fit.

Mr President, I would like to make another suggestion. You said at a meeting of the Public Chamber in 2022 that the rating is a tool for global competition. And, indeed, it is now important for us, when approving a new program, to take into account our international position and compete globally.

You have accepted our idea of creating the "Three University Missions" rating. That was 5 years ago. Currently, 2 thousand universities of the world participate in this rating. This is the largest ranking in the world, and it covers 112 countries and 154 Russian universities. What did it show? That our education system has a good foundation. For example, in terms of the number of participating universities in the ranking, we are in third place in the world, and in terms of the number of leading universities, worthy universities – in 5th place in the world. Thus, ratings must be maintained. But a new idea has emerged – the BRICS countries have contacted us, they are not covered by these studies - to create a rating for the BRICS countries. We are currently developing a methodology, and we will adopt this methodology at the Council of the Rectors ' Union in the coming days. And in October, at the BRICS summit, Mr Putin, I think you will be leading this, and we will report on the results of the BRICS rating as part of the summit.

And another small conclusion about the equipment. Vladimir Vladimirovich, the fact that the ministries and the Government decided to include universities in the program "Science and Universities" for the purchase of equipment, which did not happen before, has revolutionized the situation, has greatly changed the situation in universities.

Over the years, Moscow State University has bought $ 4 billion worth of state-of-the-art equipment, including observatories, laser equipment, vacuum equipment, and so on. And if earlier it was 10 percent of foreign production, now Moscow State University, according to the report, 35 percent of our production.

It seems to me that this program also encourages industry to try to work in our market, to meet the needs of universities, well, institutes of the Academy of Sciences. I would very much support this program.

Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

Vladimir Putin: So we will do it.

As for the BRICS rating, this is a very good suggestion. We are chairing this organization this year, and we are discussing with our colleagues the issues of our cooperation in 2024. Only today I spoke with my friend and our friend, and with the President of the People's Republic of China on this issue, too. We also discussed BRICS cooperation.

Good idea, thanks for saying so. Because we need to work on this at the working level before the summit. We will definitely do this. Thanks

Nikolai Mikhailovich, how is this work staged in St. Petersburg? I mean with schools, first of all.

Nikolai Kropachev: Thank you very much.

There's a lot to tell here. Here on the screen is Mikhail Kovalchuk, whose idea we implemented several years ago: we created special laboratories in which people come from schools in Leningrad and the region, and even come from other regions of the country. And I'll give you a figure. In my opinion, in more than 100 schools in the city and region, children study on our equipment. Of course, this increases the interest in admission to St. Petersburg University itself.

I didn't plan to perform. Vladimir Vladimirovich, you have suggested it to me, so I will still make the suggestion that I wanted to keep. It is managerial, it is simple. I think that it will not be supported, but it should be voiced. At meetings that have already taken place, for example with Rosatom, it was supported. I remember how the world-famous Fetisov said: "Yes, this should be done."

Without referring to it, but referring to the experience of St. Petersburg University, I will say. Mathematical education. Of course, the quality of it depends on the quality of training of engineers, and the quality of training of specialists in natural sciences, but, believe me, the quality of training of specialists in the field of social and social sciences.

All of us in our late 30s or 40s went to university with a common curriculum in which we all took math at the same level. Today's student, communicating with him, shows that if he answers my question in such a way that he is a humanist, so his math is bad, sorry, he cannot understand what is being asked, he cannot clearly formulate the question. This applies to both natural scientists and humanists. Unfortunately, this is the case.

A very simple solution is how to improve the quality of mathematics teaching in universities, and make it easier, and solve the problem of interest in teachers, and make them more numerous. Let's understand that if we divide all classes into three groups in the 9th grade and say: "These are humanitarians, these are semi-humanitarians, and these are natural scientists" - so those who leave our schools are those who know mathematics and physics poorly, and sometimes very poorly.

When my daughter asks me: "Dad, where to go, I want to be a lawyer, "I tell her:" Daughter, in order to be a good lawyer, you need to know math well, not social studies." So let's introduce the Unified State Exam in mathematics mandatory. I would very much like to do this and prepare my university – our university - for this decision. But I understand perfectly well that if mathematics becomes mandatory for the Gergiev Faculty, for the Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky Faculty, and for your law faculty, we will begin to fall in the admission ratings, because now we have the highest rating of the Unified State Exam among classical universities, and it will immediately fall. But, I assure you, the quality of training of graduates-both lawyers, sociologists, and psychologists-will increase. To do this, it is necessary to recognize that at school you must take the Unified State Exam in mathematics, and then take the Unified State Exam in mathematics in all educational programs, and I would even emphasize in all, otherwise they offer programs related to the arts, not to include in the number. If he sings well, but is a very low-level mathematician, without a good mom, dad or manager, this singer will not get a job in this life. He needs to put his brain back in its place.

You asked me how we work with schools. We are very active and happy, and the deans of both the Faculty of Physics and the Faculty of Chemistry are working well. But if we want stronger graduates to come to us and if education in Russia in general becomes more fundamental, including higher education, mathematics should be mandatory for everyone.

Thanks

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

I think that if we assign mathematics as a mandatory exam for admission to the conservatory, it will be a controversial decision, although your attention as a lawyer, nevertheless, to mathematical knowledge, certainly deserves all approval and support. But you should discuss this issue at the scientific council at your university before implementing it at St. Petersburg University.

N. Kropachev: We discussed it. People agree.

Vladimir Putin: Do you agree? Yes, you said that your daughter agrees to take math when applying to law school. You will still talk to her not as a junior partner, but as an equal partner, and then we will discuss this issue again. The idea itself is promising. Yes, I'm listening to you.

Nikolai Kropachev: Mr President, this is very interesting. I think everyone will, too, when they hear it. When we discussed this with Rosatom, Fetisov was sitting next to me, and I took such a risk, but I turned to him and said, " I'm sure your math is at a good level." And then we talked one - on-one, and he tells me the following:: "I come to my native school, and the school director says to me:" Fetisov, where did you go, you would be a great mathematician, why do you need this hockey?"He says,' But I've achieved a lot there, too.' And he began to talk about how mathematics helps him in hockey. Our dean of the Faculty of Arts Gergiev, I assure you, is an excellent mathematician, you know him well. He can count, he can analyze, he can make decisions. This is the first reaction. But Misha holds out his hand. Misha, Mikhail Valentinovich is holding out his hand, he probably wants to support you.

That's it, I'm finishing up, I've already taken up a lot of time, I'm sorry.

Vladimir Putin: I am afraid to give the floor to Mikhail Valentinovich, because no matter what he says, in the end he will be right on any issue, but nevertheless, of course, I cannot refuse to give him the floor.

Please, Mikhail Valentinovich.

Mikhail Kovalchuk: Mr President, thank you very much.

I literally have a very short line in pandanus with what was just said.

You know, we once discussed with you, because creative people all have one thing in common: the composer has seven notes, the artist has seven colors, the writer and poet have two or three dozen letters in the alphabet, and the scientist has ten digits. That is, people who create the universe of music, painting, literature, and science are taught from childhood to operate with a small number of abstract symbols. And this is our competitive advantage.

We're talking about creative people. We have a lot of creative people, because everyone studied at our school. Here's another thing, Nikolai Mikhailovich expects that I will support him, the Unified State Exam is necessary. I would consider the following. It is necessary to enter, take mathematics, pass when entering, say, a conservatory-this is one question. The last time we discussed the youth awards (Dmitry Anatolyevich remembers it well, Andrey Alexandrovich and many others sitting here), and there was practically a prize, despite the fact that it was a very good level, but a total catastrophe: the awards were all applied in nature, fundamental works disappeared. This is precisely due to the fact that we cut down the branch on which we are sitting.

If we don't have basic research humus, which seems to be meaningless at the moment, we won't have a future. You know, people will decide everything later, but they will be good hockey players, musicians and composers if they are trained from childhood to operate with a small number of abstract symbols, you know?

As many people believe, physics and mathematics are not a subject, but a methodology, and any field of knowledge from zoological (sorry for the descriptive vulgarity) turns into a science if and only if physical research methods and mathematical devices of scripture come to it.

I do not know if I supported Kropachev, but I simply said what I thought was right.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: So I feel that what I do is not superfluous, because I do not consider myself entitled to limit you in something, but sometimes you need to restrain, as I understand it.

But we will now ask Vladimir Mikhailovich Kattsov. He is engaged in such an abstract science, it would seem at first glance. Do your specialists need to take math classes or study judo?

Vladimir Kattsov: I have a special and very respectful attitude to judo. But the specialists of our profile do not need, probably, to practice judo without exception. As for the urgent needs in mathematics and physics, of course, the science that I do is climate theory and all sorts of applied aspects, there, of course, without mathematics not a step. Therefore, I am very much in solidarity with what was said here, and with Maxim Yakovlevich sitting next to me.

I especially liked the proposal for such a cinematic release. I think that the romanticization of this whole thing is extremely important, and it can be much stronger than even open lessons nationwide.

Thanks

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

I fully support it. I have already recalled many times conversations with our outstanding writers, including Daniil Granin, my last conversation with him, and he also spoke about this. And, of course, you are right.

Nikolai Mikhailovich, I understand that you can afford everything today, because it's your 65th birthday. And we all congratulate you on this wonderful date. You and the university, it also has an anniversary today. So we congratulate you.

Colleagues, who would like to add something? I ask you to.

T. : Vladimir Vladimirovich, can I say a few words? Golikova.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, Tatyana Alexeyevna, please.

Tatyana Golikova: Good afternoon, Vladimir Vladimirovich! Good afternoon, dear colleagues!

There are literally three points that I wanted to mention in addition to what my colleagues have already said.

The draft Strategy that we are considering today is more focused (as it turned out) on the technical branches of science, and, unfortunately, the humanities are only mentioned in passing in this updated Strategy. It is a pity, of course, that we may not have paid due attention to such sectors that, in general, also affect the safety and quality of life of the population, such as education, which we have just discussed a lot, and culture. There is practically nothing about it. But I would still like the Strategy, since it is comprehensive, to reflect these points.

The second direction I would like to mention is that there is a tendency to select promising areas of scientific and technological development. It is clear that the Strategy probably does not define everything, since this is a top-level document, but there is a passage in which it is written that only for promising areas that have been selected, we are rebuilding the education and training system. It seems to me that this approach needs to be adjusted, because we are doing a restructuring of the education system not only for promising areas. Of course, there are priorities, but we can't leave out everything else.

We have just talked about physics, mathematics and other natural sciences, which are crucial for training personnel and the challenges that we currently face in the labor market. Sergey Sergeyevich may not have said it very clearly, but we have only introduced a new career guidance system since 2023, it has only just started working this year, and together with the chairman, we held a fairly comprehensive strategic session, at which Maxim Yakovlevich also attended and made his proposals. And now we have very serious studies in these areas, which we discussed, including some approaches to changing the Unified State Exam. I won't get ahead of myself yet, we are currently discussing them with experts.

And, what is important, Mr Putin (probably the rectors of higher education institutions will not like this), Valery Nikolaevich and I have repeatedly said that we have additional tests in higher education institutions along with the results of the Unified State Exam, and these additional tests do not always include the subjects that we need for students focused on the natural sciences and professions that we need in the future. Therefore, this topic is very subtle, and the expert community is usually divided into several parts: some are supporters of one, others are supporters of the other. Quite rightly, the rector of St. Petersburg University said that he has such a position, and others may have a different one. And this is also being discussed, and it is also on the agenda, there are supporters and such, and such. This is a delicate point, but I can assure you that we are working on it, and we are working on it.

Another point I would like to mention is medical science. Special science, it is absolutely in the Strategy and in the priorities, but its peculiarity is that we receive the results of scientific research not only in scientific laboratories, but also in health care institutions. Because any scientific developments, in order to check their quality and effectiveness, we must come to a healthcare institution, conduct clinical studies, clinical trials. And if they are confirmed on a specific person, then we can apply this drug, medical device and technology.

And it is very important for us that there is no gap between fundamental developments and what later becomes applied science and is put into practice. And this is an absolute feature of medical science, because it works with a specific person and a specific patient. And we very clearly understood this and followed it up on the genetic program that we are implementing and which we will tell you about very soon, next week, at the Forum of the Future for Medicine.

And in this regard, I would like to make a final point. There are parent organizations here. It is registered as an institute. It is clear that there are also no criteria for selecting these parent organizations. Probably, they can only be used for certain directions. But I'm turning to the same medicine again.

As you are well aware, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Federal Medical and Biological Agency have leading institutes that work in the same direction and achieve certain fundamental and applied successes. But how to choose the main institute in a particular field or the main scientific organization there is a big question. These are reputable institutions, and it is very difficult, I just know it well, it is very difficult to conduct such a selection.

So I'm for what? We have specific features, and there is a need for additional study of such sensitive issues. As you said, this should be done within a week, but there is still a top-level document, a Strategy, and there are already applied things that need to be implemented. And here it is necessary to go through it very carefully, so as not to harm. I just wanted to stop at these points.

Thanks

Vladimir Putin: Good. Thank you very much.

Dmitry Anatolyevich, do you have anything to add?

Dmitry : Mr President, I will say just two words about what everyone is discussing and what Maxim Yakovlevich said. About the "legal bulldozer" two words.

In fact, of course, you need to act carefully. But the mentioned problem of regulating unmanned vehicles, the need to regulate this area as a high-tech one, was already clear in 2019, and judging by what I have just heard, there is no document. It is clear that this is a difficult story from the point of view of ensuring road safety, from the point of view of monitoring the human condition, but this is the most important technological direction of development.

Therefore, I would fully support the intention to act more decisively in the field of regulatory regulation of advanced technological developments. Because if we can't solve this problem for five years, of course, this does not make us a strong country in this sense. Here you need to act much faster.

Mr President, I would also like to fully support what you have said about maintaining the level of funding. It is clear that the time is very difficult now, and the tasks that the state solves are really fundamental in terms of preserving even our country. But we still need to take into account inflationary processes and a lot of other issues related to budget formation, and we should try to provide our science with the proper level of funding, taking into account these factors, as you said at the very beginning.

Well, the documents that we are considering today were reviewed several times at the Presidium of the Council for Science and in other organizations. They need to be finalized and, of course, supported.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

I have already spoken out on this issue and I want to say it again, and I will even add it. Even in the very difficult conditions of the Great Patriotic War, we resolved fundamental issues and thought about the future. But today, all the more so, we must not lose sight of these issues. And we will certainly work. We will discuss this issue with our colleagues from the Government, and we will return to these issues.

I want to thank everyone. Our meeting today was quite lively and at the same time informative and useful.

I will ask Andrey Fursenko to prepare a draft of the final documents.

Thank you very much. And we will see many more colleagues this evening.

Good luck. Thank you.

It’s becoming clear that Putin is intent on cementing the plans for his remaining years as Russian President. As you read, there are many technical aspects to the Strategy that still need to be worked out. The emphasis on math is understandable. Within the text are links to the 2016 Strategy document and to the Sirius University. It’s clear that the 2016 Strategy was developed as a result of the 2014 sanctions and that the current upgrade modifications are driven by the 2022 sanctions. Clearly Russia needs to keep a balanced approach between imports and development of its own technosphere. And given the current level of modern equipment at institutions, there appears to be plenty of room for both native and imported products. The entire discussion shows how to properly coordinate policy within all aspects of the nation—government at all levels, business and educational institutions. It’s also clear there’s no dithering in Russia on this issue, and the focus on forward thinking is impressive. It’s possible to see the widening chasm between the Eurasian nations and the West in the technological sphere that will develop as a result. And with Russia’s expansion of its foreign student scholarships, the Global Majority will also benefit greatly.

One of the features that differentiates Russia’s political-economy from Neoliberal captured economies is the funding for basic research and development that becomes integrated into the economy. That hasn’t completely ceased in Neoliberal land, but it’s been massively curtailed. The USA’s space program’s funding via NASA is one obvious example, and its shoddy rail system is another. And then there’s Boeing.

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