Russian Science Policy in the Assessments of Russian Researchers (Mid-1990s – Mid-2010s)

The article examines the attitude of representatives of the Russian scientific community toward the state science policy. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the idea that analyzing researchers’ opinions and actively involving members of the scientific community as experts in the development of planning, management and funding can significantly contribute to shaping science and technology policy. At the same time, the systemic bureaucratization of scientific activity – measures for academic activities often observed today in the interaction between the state and the scientific community – cannot effectively govern the process of knowledge production, as the ultimate goals of the bureaucratic management system and those of the research community do not align. The empirical foundation of the study consists of data from a sociological monitoring of academic communities in research centers of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS) from 1992 to 2015. The results of the analysis showed that researchers were commonly quite critical of the transformation of science policy in Russia during the transition to a market economy. The key conclusion of the article is that the state’s primary task should be setting strategic goals for the scientific community. A striking example of this is the objective of achieving technological sovereignty. Meanwhile, tactical decisions – pertaining to specific methods and approaches for accomplishing such tasks – should remain within the purview of the professional scientific community.

scientific community, science policy, technological sovereignty, assessments, bureaucratization, strategic goals, monitoring, methods of achievement, mechanisms of achievement