Nezavisimaya Gazeta: "Putin attends Russia’s Academy of Sciences’ General Meeting"
On science
The spotlight was on Russian science last week. Although the country's scientists have yet to uncover a new particle or nano-particle, things have been busy. Addressing the events in order of importance, the Russian Academy of Sciences' (RAS) General Meeting on Tuesday was the highlight of the week. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin graced the event.
What did the academics expect from Putin? Well, first and foremost, they hoped he would tell them where they stand. Given the recent developments, the situation has been a bit unclear. The academy's budget was slashed, and emphasis was suddenly shifted from academic to university research, which received generous funding. Perhaps they expected a gift, although what could the prime minister have given the academics? Not money, that's for sure. This wasn't Putin's first visit to the academy, but it was truly symbolic at this critical time. The auditorium was packed.
During his speech, the prime minister assured the academy members that the government holds them in the highest regard, adding that Russia requires of them a new stage of modernisation. He also called upon the academy to concentrate their funds on breakthrough areas and "not to spread the butter too thin." RAS President Yury Osipov vehemently challenged the remark in his return speech, as a person who had never heeded such calls in his near 20-year tenure, and continuously was spreading the resources thinner.
Putin spoke at length, cleverly, and to the point. But he had nothing new to say. The other speakers also said little new. The essence of their speeches was that the sciences were developing in Russia, but continued to lag further behind the Western sciences.
Incidentally, some expected the RAS General Meeting would address the scandal involving the inventor Viktor Petrik and his much-touted filters, which he claimed can cleanse water of any pollution, including radioactivity. The scandal has been hot for months, and there's no end in sight. Many scientists consider Petrik a charlatan, but there is a rub. The patented filter's co-author is another inventor by the name of Boris Gryzlov. The filters are included in the national clean water programme and will be introduced throughout Russia at a cost of 15 trillion roubles.
This might be why the Petrik situation wasn't discussed at the meeting. However, a day earlier, Petrik stopped the headlines by suing several newspapers and magazines, demanding 21 million and 162 thousand roubles in compensation. The publications, including the Rosbalt news agency, Komsomolskaya Pravda and Novaya Gazeta, are at pains to understand the accusations, as the charges aren't based on the journalists' own words, but rather on their quotations from other sources.
Of course, anything could happen. A person who served time on 13 criminal charges, including fraud, could, in principle, become a world-class inventor and create a wonder-filter that official science is unable to explain. And, of course, the wicked and feckless academy members and corrupt media would hound him for his achievement. But, for some reason, the situation only evokes disgust. So, let's leave it to the courts.
How the scandal will end is anybody's guess. If Petrik wins the case, it would trigger an even larger scandal -- both inside and outside Russia. But if Petrik loses, he would effectively be labelled a crook. The issue of the co-author would also have to be dealt with. Everyone would start poking their fingers at Gryzlov and the United Russia party. Something would also have to be done about the 15 trillion roubles granted for the project.
Although the scandal will most likely be short and sweet, now that a lawsuit has been filed, it's too late to hit the brakes.
Vladimir Pokrovsky
