07.02.2025
On February 7, in the exhibition halls of the Knorozov Multimedia Center, ahead of Russian Science Day, a presentation was held for the book “Managing Science: A Guide to the Soviet Past”.
A presentation dedicated to Russian Science Day was held at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH). The book was prepared by a team from the Center for the History of Russian Science and Scientific-Technological Development at RSUH, led by Dr. Evgenia Dolgova, Director of the Center. This initiative is part of Working with Experience and Designing the Future, a program within the Decade of Science and Technology.
The key theme of the event was Russian science: its Soviet past and its current state.
"Science has now permeated all areas of our lives. That is why we should pay attention to how attitudes toward science were shaped in the Soviet past in order to understand how we should live and develop," explained Andrei Loginov, Acting Rector of RSUH. "I see a great achievement of our country and our state in the fact that science is experiencing a new renaissance today!"
Russian science is currently one of the most significant fields for the state and remains under the close attention of the highest leadership. Commenting on the interaction between the government and the scientific community, Andrei Fursenko, Advisor to the President of Russia, noted:
"Science is the tool through which we can address the country’s and society’s most pressing issues, not only in the natural sciences but also in the humanities."
A key intersection between the natural sciences and humanities in Russia is the history of Soviet science management. For a long time, the Russian academic space lacked relevant research by domestic scholars.
"When you read documents from the 1920s on scientific and educational policy, you sometimes feel like you're reading modern Telegram channels in terms of terminology, language, and issues discussed. The phrasing may be slightly different, but the core questions and fundamental challenges of that time remain relevant today," observed Denis Sekirinsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
The work of the editorial team, led by Evgenia Dolgova and Denis Sekirinsky, was carried out as part of the Working with Experience and Designing the Future initiative within the Decade of Science and Technology (2022–2031), proclaimed by the Presidential Decree of April 25, 2022.
The “Guide” is a study from the team at the Center for the History of Russian Science. It is the second book following “Soviet Science of a Great Country”, which also explored the development of the science in the USSR.
