MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. The idea of import substitution is hardly applicable to scientific research and there is no sense for domestic science to get isolated, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.
The head of the Russian government met with President of the Kurchatov Institute national nuclear energy research center Mikhail Kovalchuk to discuss Russia’s participation in the so-called megascience projects to tackle principally new scientific tasks using national and international research installations.
As the head of the Kurchatov Institute said, "there was a very negative background when Russia entered these projects and a lot of people wondered why it was necessary to invest money in them."
At that time, there was some slump in domestic science while Russian research abroad ‘was in demand,’ Kovalchuk said.
Thanks to its participation in these projects, Russian science demonstrated the areas where it was strong at the world level and it managed together with the international community to create what is now the best in the world, the Kurchatov Institute chief said.
"And, considering that we legally possess the rights to intellectual property, today the government and the president have launched a program of building a network of mega-installations near Moscow and Novosibirsk," Kovalchuk said.
"At first, we carried out R&D work abroad using our own funds and the funds of the international community and now we have come here together with the international community already with blueprints, roughly speaking," he added.
The Russian premier said in turn that "it was very good, especially as we understand well that science has no borders and there is no sense to get isolated."
"As applicable to commercial items, products, we need to pursue import substitution whereas import substitution in science is a disputable thing because it is necessary to incorporate all the achievements, all scientific ideas that exist and already seek some breakthrough solutions that will serve the entire humankind, our country and our people," the head of the Russian government said, adding that "it is necessary to develop further our work in this direction."
On his part, the head of the Kurchatov Institute spoke about genetics, which would help "develop principally new technologies." The scientist said that new genetic technologies "are breakthroughs for decades to come and relate to new agriculture, new medicine and a new micro-biological industry."
The Russian premier said he agreed that science in the field of genetics also "needs to be developed."