Back to Yury Neretin homepage
Back

The Speaker of the Duma
Mr. S. Naryshkin

Your Honour,

the Russian Government, at a meeting last week, launched a bill proposing fundamental changes to the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to the bill, dated 28 June, the Academy is to merge with the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The responsibility for the more than 400 research institutes now under the Academy's auspices would be transferred to a new government-run agency. The Duma is supposed to decide on this reform in the near future.

The reform means an incapacitation for the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The transfer to a new government-run agency is an unacceptable course of action which harms the freedom of science. We, the German Mathematical Society (DMV), with 5.000 members Germany’s largest and oldest mathematical society, oppose the planned reform. We therefore appeal to the Duma not to enact this reform.

Sincerely yours,

Prof. Dr. J?rg Kramer
President of the German Mathematical Society