Russia’s Science Policy in 2018–2022: Controversial Signals

Abstract

The article analyzes the Russian science policy that has been implemented during last five years, after setting new goals in 2018. Science policy measures are examined in the projection of three actors. The first actor is the government that sets goals, systems of management and coordination, and allocates the funds. The second actor is the Russian Academy of Sciences, which performs an expert function. The third actor is university science, which has become the main beneficiary of state support in recent years. The aim of the article is to identify the key directions of the country’s science policy in projections of the readiness of the science system to the radically changed geopolitical conditions that have emerged in 2022. During the last five years, the system of science management has evolved towards increased centralization of power. Such system allows concentrating resources on key tasks. However, such tasks that would need centralized effort were not set. The main objectives of the science policy focused on the diversification and integration of the Russian science into the international scientific community (through the improvement of positions in the international ratings, growth of publications indexed in international databases, encouraging academic mobility). The result of the contradicting government policy was unpreparedness of the science sector to sanctions. The state was able to undertake only actions of immediate reaction; the time was lost to develop measures aimed at existence in isolation from key world scientific powers.