Russia’s Science Policy, 2018-2022: Mixed Signals

Social Sciences. 2023. Vol. 54. No. 3. P. 42–56.

Dezhina I.

This article analyzes Russia’s science policy since 2018, when new science development goals were set and became translated into the bud- get process and national projects. Science policy measures are examined from the perspectives of three actors. The first actor is the government, which sets development goals, forms the system of management and coordination, and provides the bulk of the funding. The second actor is the Russian Academy of Sciences, which performs the expert function. The third actor is university science, which has in recent years emerged as the chief beneficiary of state support. The purpose of this article is to identify key areas of the country’s scientific policy in terms of the degree of readiness of the science sphere for the dramatic change of geopolitical conditions in 2022. The author shows that the system of science management has evolved toward greater centralization and strengthening of the vertical power structure, including the principles of funding allocation. Such a system makes it possible to focus resources on tackling key tasks. But the tasks that would require such centralization have not been set. The main goals of science policy focused on diversifying and integrating Russian science into the international science community (by improving its international ratings, increasing the number of publications in- cluded in international databases, and encouraging academic mobility). As a result of such contradictory government policy, science has proved unpre- pared to work under tough sanctions. The state has managed to take only immediate response measures and, with a significant delay, begun to form an agenda aimed at existing in isolation from the leading science powers.

Keywords: international cooperation, Russia, state regulation, University science, Russian Academy of Sciences, sanctions, science policy