MOSCOW, July 10 (Itar-Tass) - A bill on the reform of the state academies of science should be returned to the State Duma for an additional discussion; the document might even need first reading, member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Science and Chairman of the Council on Foreign relations Board Yevgeny Primakov said at the Open Rostrum debates held at the State Duma on Wednesday.
The bill in its present form has retained a concept of creating a new Academy of Sciences, the idea of which in Primakov's opinion, cannot be accepted. Primakov reminded of a concept of the first bill on the reform of the Academy which envisaged liquidation of the Russian Academy of Sciences. But, after the Russian president had talked to a group of scientists very important amendments to the document were made, but despite these amendments a concept of creating a new Academy remained, Primakov stressed. The fact that the Academy was founded by Russian emperor Peter the Great was ignored altogether, Primakov added.
A clause in the proposed bill which envisages merger of the Academy of Sciences with the Academies of Medical and Agricultural Sciences was approved by his colleagues, Primakov admitted. He also approved plans of turning over the property of the Academy under control of a governmental structure for purposes of tightening control over the use of the academy's property.
The appointment of the heads of scientific organizations and awarding a degree of an academician to members of the Academy will be made in accordance with the Charter of the Academy, Primakov reaffirmed.
Nevertheless, Primakov has rejected as unacceptable the thesis of creating a new academy and asked to return the bill to the State Duma for an additional discussion.
Head of the A Just Russia faction at the State Duma Sergei Mironov and First Deputy chairman of the Duma communist faction Ivan Melnikov have agreed that the document should be returned to the Duma for second reading, and, possibly, it might need first reading as well, they said.
The government submitted a bill on the reform of the Academy of Sciences to the State Duma on June 28; on July 3 the bill passed first reading, two days later the bill was passed at second reading with 69 amendments. The third and final reading of the bill was postponed until autumn.