Presidium of the RAS
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| Presidium of the RAS | |
|---|---|
| Name | Presidium of the RAS |
| Native name | Президиум Российской академии наук |
| Formation | 18th–19th century (evolving) |
| Headquarters | Moscow |
| Leader title | President |
| Leader name | See section |
| Parent organization | Russian Academy of Sciences |
Presidium of the RAS The Presidium of the RAS is the executive collegial body of the Russian Academy of Sciences tasked with coordinating scientific policy, administrative oversight, and institutional governance across academies, institutes, and research centers. It occupies a central role linking major figures and institutions such as Mikhail Lomonosov, Dmitri Mendeleev, Ivan Pavlov, Soviet Academy of Sciences, Soviet Union, and contemporary organizations including the Government of Russia, Ministry of Education and Science (Russia), and numerous regional academies and universities.
History
The Presidium traces antecedents to proto-institutions created under Catherine the Great and the formalization of learned societies like the Russian Academy (1918), later consolidated into the Academy of Sciences (USSR) after the October Revolution. During the Soviet Union era, the Presidium interacted with bodies such as the Politburo, Council of Ministers of the USSR, Gosplan, and ministries including the Ministry of Higher Education of the RSFSR. Prominent scientists and administrators who influenced the Presidium’s evolution include Vladimir Vernadsky, Sergey Vavilov, Andrey Kolmogorov, Igor Kurchatov, and Lev Landau. Reforms under leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin, and later Vladimir Putin reshaped relationships with agencies like the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, culminating in reorganizations affecting the Presidium’s remit and its interactions with bodies such as the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations and the Skolkovo Foundation.
Structure and Composition
The Presidium comprises elected academicians and corresponding members drawn from institutes including the Pasternak Institute of Literature, Lebedev Physical Institute, Kurchatov Institute, Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton)-style partner organizations, and regional branches like the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Members often hold concurrent posts at institutions such as Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg State University, Novosibirsk State University, Sechenov University, and research centers including the Steklov Institute of Mathematics, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Institute of Physical Chemistry named after Semenov. The Presidium’s internal offices include committees on finance, publications, international relations, and ethics, linked to journals and publishers like Doklady Akademii Nauk, Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk, Izvestia, and the Russian Science Citation Index. Historical figures associated with composition decisions include Alexander Butlerov, Nikolay Pirogov, Andrei Sakharov, and administrators from Lenin’s administration.
Functions and Responsibilities
The Presidium sets strategic priorities for national projects such as collaborations with Rosatom, Roscosmos, Russian Federal Space Agency, and initiatives connected to Skolkovo Innovation Center, Russian Science Foundation, and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. It adjudicates academy elections, institute charters, budget allocations tied to the Ministry of Finance (Russia), property disputes involving assets like historical buildings and laboratory complexes, and oversees awards such as the Lomonosov Gold Medal, State Prize of the Russian Federation, and academy fellowships. The Presidium issues positions on national scientific policy, coordinates responses to crises involving institutions like the Kurchatov Institute or the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, and signs international agreements with counterparts such as the National Academy of Sciences (United States), the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the French Academy of Sciences, and the German Research Foundation.
Presidium Leadership and Membership
Leadership has included presidents and secretaries who were also prominent figures such as Alexander Sergeev, Yuri Osipov, Gennady Krasnikov, and historically Ivan Petrovich Pavlov-era chairs. Membership spans fields represented by Nobel laureates like Zhores Alferov, Konstantin Novoselov, and Vitaly Ginzburg as well as leaders from institutes including the Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Shemyakin–Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Institute of Geography (Russian Academy of Sciences). The Presidium’s roster often overlaps with laureates of the Lenin Prize, USSR State Prize, Fields Medal-adjoining mathematicians such as Grigori Perelman-adjacent networks, and influencers in policy from think tanks like the Russian International Affairs Council.
Sessions and Decision-Making Procedures
Sessions are convened regularly in venues such as the historic 12th Century Kremlin-proximate buildings, Pashkov House-adjacent halls, and institute auditoria. Agendas cover accreditation, disciplinary actions, strategic approvals, and institutional mergers; decisions follow voting rules similar to those codified in statutes analogous to those used by the European Research Council and the National Science Foundation (US). Committees prepare dossiers involving peer review from academicians affiliated with the Steklov Institute, Institute of Medical Genetics, Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and external consultations with officials from Rostec and Russian Venture Company.
Relationship with Russian Government and Scientific Institutions
The Presidium maintains formal and informal links with executive organs including the Government of Russia, the State Duma, the Federation Council (Russia), and ministries such as the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Russia), while interacting with regional authorities in Moscow Oblast, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk Oblast, and Sakhalin Oblast. Former agreements and tensions have involved agencies like the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor), Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations, and state enterprises like Gazprom when research partnerships intersect with industrial programs. Internationally, the Presidium negotiates collaborations and responds to sanctions regimes impacting relationships with the European Union, United States Department of State, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, and multilateral organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Notable Actions and Controversies
The Presidium has presided over high-profile episodes: institutional consolidations merging the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences into unified structures, public debates involving figures like Andrei Zorin and Fyodor Lukyanov-adjacent commentators, controversies over property transfers during reforms of the 2000s, disputes over appointment procedures that involved interventions by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and President Vladimir Putin, and ethical disputes surrounding research at institutes such as the Pasternak Institute and biomedical centers implicated in public scrutiny. Scientific stances issued by the Presidium have provoked responses from foreign academies including the Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences (US), and the Academia Europaea.