RUSSIA: CAN OLD SCIENTISTS LEARN NEW TRICKS?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MOSCOW 001676

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR ISN/CTR (RADTKE),OES/STAS (DR. ATKINSON),
OES/STC (DAUGHARTY),EUR/RUS (GUHA),EUR/ACE (YOUTH)
BERLIN FOR HAGEN
WHITE HOUSE FOR OSTP (DR. MARBURGER)
DOD FOR CTR (AWEBER, JREID)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2017
TAGS: TSPL TBIO PINR PGOV ECON RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIA: CAN OLD SCIENTISTS LEARN NEW TRICKS?

REF: A. MOSCOW 1241

B. MOSCOW 933

C. MOSCOW 551

D. 06 MOSCOW 11278

E. 06 MOSCOW 9563

F. 06 MOSCOW 6692

G. 06 MOSCOW 6355

H. 06 MOSCOW 4823

I. 06 MOSCOW 4075

Classified By: EST Counselor Daniel O'Grady. Reasons: 1.4 (b,d,e)


1. (C) SUMMARY: To assess the changing science climate in
Russia and funding implications (especially for institutes
employing former weapons experts),ISN/CTR's Jefferson
Science Fellow recently visited several scientific institutes
in the Moscow area and met with government officials and
representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and
the Academy of Medical Sciences (RAMS). Many institutes
already are beginning to feel the effects of greater state
control, through forced reorganizations and mergers with
other institutes; restrictions on outside sources of funding
and extended work abroad; and government orders to focus on
certain research areas. Scientists still complain about
meager salaries compared to the cost of living, and are
frustrated at the limited tax-free avenues for obtaining
foreign grants. We suspect some of the grousing is a natural
reaction to the pruning of "dead wood" that the Academies'
institutes must undergo to become more competitive. END
SUMMARY.

Location, Location, Location
--------------


2. (C) GOR efforts are already underway at some institutes to
assert control over RAS land holdings and convert them to
commercial uses (Refs D, E). The Engelhardt Institute of
Molecular Biology in Moscow was recently informed by the GOR
that they are to be merged with the Institute for Gene
Biology, one block away. As a result, they were told they
must give up laboratory space to accommodate the incoming
scientists and their equipment. (NOTE: The institute is
being torn down by the GOR to erect a new high-rise office
building. END NOTE) Rather than welcoming their unfortunate
colleagues with open arms, the Engelhardt scientists openly
displayed anger and resentment, since laboratory space and
resources were in many cases already strained.


3. (C) Several key institutes under the direction of the
Ministry of Health and Social Development (MOHSD) recently
received hefty funding for renovations and the acquisition of
large pieces of equipment. The funds cannot, however, be
spent on such items as accessories or auxiliary equipment
necessary to operate the new equipment. For example,
computers were acceptable purchases, but not monitors or
software. More significantly, biosafety and biosecurity
equipment was also deemed by MOHSD to be "unnecessary".
Several scientists reported that a new massive Anti-Plague
Institute has just been commissioned in Moscow, although
details as to its actual location are unknown.

Reversing the Brain Drain
--------------


4. (C) A new order by the GOR has decreed that any scientist
who remains abroad for more than three or four months for any
reason will immediately lose his or her permanent institute
position. Several newly-minted Ph.D.s interviewed at
Engelhardt Institute, along with their research advisors,
were unexpectedly approached by the GOR last month for a
chance to receive an additional 7,000 rubles per month each.
They did not apply for this bonus, nor did their institute,
and it was unclear to them why they were selected or what the
criteria were, since other recent candidates in the same
institute were not approached. In order to receive this
additional money, however, they were told they must sign a
statement saying that neither they nor their institute would
accept ANY money from any other source, foreign or Russian,
and that they would not go abroad for postdoctoral work.

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Rightsizing and Rationalizing Science Institutes
-------------- ---


5. (SBU) All of the RAS institutes have just completed a
massive analysis of their scientific efforts over the past
five years. The assessment, which was ordered by the GOR and
was due on March 1, will be used to rank the institutes.
Those institutes deemed to be the "most productive" will
remain open, while those that are deemed "unproductive" will
be considered for closure or merger with another institute.
The assessment will also determine the amount of operating
funds allocated to an institute. The assessments are to be
reviewed and ranked by a committee appointed by the Ministry
of Education and Science, although the RAS has demanded that
specific criteria be established to assure a fair outcome,
since there will only be three scientists on the panel of
nine.

Can Old Dogs Really Learn New Tricks?
--------------


6. (C) One of the chemistry groups at Engelhardt was recently
informed by their institute director that they were to put
aside all other research to concentrate on producing large
quantities of a compound that had exhibited strong activity
against avian influenza for an institute associated with
Urals State University, an institute with which Engelhardt
collaborated in the past. The drug is to be aggressively
marketed, despite having no defined mechanism of action, no
data about toxicity, and very limited clinical trials.
Concerns about drug safety were brushed aside, and the
group's director finally questioned their own role in this
joint project, since there were no plans for determining the
drug,s mechanism of action or improving activity -- their
usual focus. The response: "There is no more money for this
type of research. Just make the compound and be quiet."


7. (C) Several institutes whose research focuses on
biological testing, clinical trials, medicinal chemistry, or
drug design and development, have seen significant funding
cuts. The Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology,
Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov
Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Martsinovsky Institute of
Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Institute of
Developmental Biology, and the State Research Institute of
Organic Chemistry, all reported that institutes that normally
screen compounds for biological activity have been told there
is no more money for such work. The chemistry groups that
synthesize potential drugs have also been told there is no
money for biological testing and clinical trials. Instead,
MOHSD recently formed a new office to conduct all biological
testing, but scientists are loath to send samples there, as
it is to be staffed with non-scientific personnel. Despite
this heartburn, they will likely have no alternative, since
there are only a few expensive private companies that conduct
this type of work.

You Do the Math: Salaries and Foreign Grants
--------------


8. (C) Despite steady increases in many salaries, scientists
stated that paychecks were still too low to match the high
cost of living, particularly in Moscow. Many scientists
reported that they are still owed significant back pay, and
many institutes received insufficient funding to cover their
operating costs during the past few years. Several
scientists reported that if an institute is closed, the GOR
would no longer be responsible for arrears owed to either the
scientists or the institute.


9. (C) The GOR issued new salary guidelines for scientists
and institute administrators in November 2006. Each salary
must now be calculated using a complicated point system. The
factors used to calculate the points are based on twelve
different categories, including, among other things, the
number of publications, the ranking of the journals in which
they are published, whether the journal is Russian or
international, the citation index of the journal, the number

MOSCOW 00001676 003 OF 004


of authors on the paper, the number of domestic and
internatiaonl conferences attended, the number of invited
talks, oral or poster presentations, the number of authors on
those presentations, the number of Ph.D. students trained, or
if the employee is a graduate student, how old the students
is and how long the student has been studying towards the
Ph.D. The points must reflect only the prior 24 months of
information, so each salary must be recalculated each month.


10. (C) Scientists from the State Research Institute of
Organic Chemistry and Technology stated that they have
developed a promising anticancer compound, and that a British
company has expressed interest in marketing the potential
drug. MOHSD, however, has told them they cannot sign an
agreement with the company until they obtain a patent, given
the current concern over IPR issues. Before they can apply
for the patent, however, further clinical trials are
required. MOH has cut their funding significantly and as a
result, they have no money to pursue the clinical testing.
MOHSD also recently closed the government office that
reviewed and submitted grant proposals to foreign sources,
leaving the scientists to guess to whom within the GOR they
should submit proposals and what agency might provide funds
for clinical trials or commercialization efforts.


11. (C) Some institutes, including the Institute for
Immunological Engineering, TEMPO, and Shemyakin and
Ovchinnikov Institute, noted that they are leery of applying
for grants from some foreign sources like the U.S. National
Institutes of Health (NIH),because of uncertainty about
whether Russian authorities will tax such grants. There are
few well-established tax-free foreign funding mechanisms,
other than the International Science and Technology Center
(ISTC) and Civilian Research and Development Foundation
(CRDF).


12. (C) Many Moscow academicians were scornful of GOR
proposals to establish by the end of 2007 two new large
regional universities in Rostov-on-Don and Krasnoyarsk, which
would serve as prototypes for other regional universities.
Typical was this comment: "Who will go to such a place? You
may convince some students to apply because it is closer to
their homes, but what will such places attract in terms of
first class professors? No one would leave a prestigious
position in Moscow or St. Petersburg to take up a job in the
middle of nowhere!"

Comment: Sour Grapes?
--------------


13. (C) Many institutes and their scientists are clearly
feeling the effects of the pruning of "dead wood" in the RAS
and RAMS. Despite assertions that the GOR has long coveted
RAS and RAMS real estate holdings and disliked their relative
independence, the Academies' white-haired septuagenarians
share some of the blame in failing to focus greater attention
on priority research and commercialization (Ref D). While
the financial situation for Moscow-based researchers may
prove challenging, scientists in Nizhniy Novgorod and Troitsk
have told us that current salary levels generally allow
institute staff to live comfortably, if not lavishly. We
suspect at least some of the grousing from scientists
reflects sour grapes over the unfortunately necessary steps
these institutes must take to keep from falling further
behind leaner and more business-savvy Russian competitors
(Refs A, B). While the GOR continues to demand greater
commercialization, it has yet to remove some of the most
significant obstacles obstructing technology transfer, chief
among them the question of IPR. Four draft laws that would
clarify and improve the IPR situation are now in the Duma;
their enactment would help scientists help themselves. END
COMMENT.


14. (C) (NOTE: Four fundamental GOR documents on the on-going
RAS and RAMS changes are available on request from ISN/CTR
Jefferson Science Fellow Katherine Radtke: phone:
202-736-7693, e-mail: RadtkeKL@state.sgov.gov). They are: 1)
a list of 32 priority research areas originally proposed for
funding priorities by RAS; 2) an official list of 12 funding

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priorities recently announced by MOHSD; 3) a translated
November 2006 order by the Ministry of Education and Science
and the MOHSD, dictating a new procedure to "stimulate
bonuses"; and 4) the translated procedure and point system
for calculating the bonuses. END NOTE)
BURNS