Russian summer hopes dwarf doubts
1992; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 357; Issue: 6377 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1038/357357a0
ISSN1476-4687
Autores Tópico(s)Russia and Soviet political economy
ResumoRussian summer hopes dwarf doubtsRussian science seems to have survived the winter and the first phase of price liberalization, but there is a long way to go before it can compete on equal terms.Moscow.The difference between summer and winter here is not just the external temperature, but people's frame of mind.Especially towards the end of the long winter, spirits are at nadir.The return of a little natural warmth has each year liberated the natural optimism of those who live in this still-isolated part of the world.That, no doubt, is part of the explanation of the relative cheerfulness with which many research people now regard the future.But there is also some substance in the change of mood since, say, last December.Seemingly insuperable problems have often been overcome by ingenuity and a little luck.The exodus of able and mostly senior people, for example, has not brought all the catastrophic consequences predicted.The Moscow Institute of Molecular Genetics illustrates what has happened.Out of a total of 200 scientists and 150 students, no fewer than 40 people have left, of whom 36 previously occupied senior research positions.Many of the departed have finished up in US universities.Of necessity, these departures often decapitated successful research groups, leaving students and others leaderless at short notice or none.Opinions are sharply divided on the manner in which some have left.Sometimes people have gone to "visit relatives" in the United States, and have allowed their intention not to return to be inferred only from the length of their absence.Some vigorously condemn this practice, but Dr Evgenii Sverdlov, the director of the institute, has resolved instead on a more pragmatic policy."I want to understand what is in their minds", he says.So the departed are kept on the institute's books and even paid a portion of their salaries."We cannot afford to make enemies", says Sverdlov.Some also argue that the way in which junior colleagues, even students, have been compelled to take more responsibility on their shoulders is a blessing in disguise.All too often in the past, heads of laboratories regarded their subordinates as just that.Now there are bright-eyed students who playa part in the planning of research.Even so, nobody can be sure that the supply of these young men and women will persist.A graduate student ' s life, never easy, is now one of hardship.The standard stipend, the equivalent of a few dollars a month, is plainly insufficient.Some students get by only because they live with their parents or are otherwise subsidized by them.At the elite schools, such as the Moscow Physical Technical Institute, the
Referência(s)