

Currently released so far... 12404 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
ASEC
AE
AF
AM
AR
AJ
AU
AORC
AG
AEMR
AMGT
APER
AGMT
AL
AFIN
AO
AMED
ADCO
AS
ABUD
ABLD
ASUP
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
APECO
AID
AND
AMBASSADOR
AN
ARM
AY
AODE
AMG
ASCH
AMCHAMS
ARF
APCS
APEC
ASEAN
AGAO
ANET
ADPM
ACOA
ACABQ
AORL
AFFAIRS
ATRN
ACS
AFSI
AFSN
ADANA
ASIG
AA
AX
AUC
AC
AECL
AADP
AGRICULTURE
AMEX
ACAO
ACBAQ
AQ
AORG
ADM
AINF
AIT
ASEX
AGR
AROC
ATFN
AFGHANISTAN
AFU
AER
ALOW
AZ
AVERY
BA
BY
BU
BR
BE
BL
BO
BK
BM
BILAT
BH
BEXP
BF
BTIO
BC
BBSR
BMGT
BTIU
BG
BWC
BB
BD
BX
BP
BRUSSELS
BN
BIDEN
BT
CW
CH
CF
CD
CV
CVIS
CM
CE
CA
CJAN
CLINTON
CIA
CU
CASC
CI
CO
CACM
CDB
CN
CMGT
CS
CG
CBW
CIS
CR
CONDOLEEZZA
CPAS
CAN
CWC
CY
COUNTER
CDG
CL
CT
CIC
CIDA
CSW
CHR
CB
CODEL
COUNTERTERRORISM
CTR
COM
CICTE
CFED
CJUS
CKGR
CBSA
CEUDA
CARSON
CONS
CITEL
CLMT
CROS
CITT
CAC
CVR
CDC
CAPC
COPUOS
CBC
CBE
CARICOM
COE
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
CACS
CTM
CNARC
ECON
EFIN
ETRD
EUN
EFIS
EG
ETTC
EZ
EPET
EAID
EAGR
ENRG
ECUN
EU
ELAB
ECPS
EAIR
EINV
ELTN
EWWT
EIND
EMIN
EI
ECIN
ENVR
ELECTIONS
EINVEFIN
EN
ES
ER
EC
EUC
EINT
EINVETC
ENGR
ET
EK
ENIV
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ECONOMY
EAP
EFTA
EUR
EUMEM
EXIM
ERD
ENERG
EUREM
ESA
ERNG
EXTERNAL
EPA
EINVECONSENVCSJA
ECONOMICS
ELN
EINN
EFINECONCS
ENNP
EEPET
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ENVI
ETRO
ESENV
ECINECONCS
ECONOMIC
EAIDS
EDU
ETRA
ETRN
EFIM
EIAR
ETRC
EAIG
EXBS
EURN
ECIP
EREL
ECA
ENGY
ECONCS
ECONEFIN
ETC
ETRDECONWTOCS
EUNCH
EINDETRD
IR
IZ
IS
IAEA
INRB
IRAJ
IQ
IN
IT
IMO
INTERPOL
ICAO
IO
IC
ITALY
ITALIAN
IRAQI
ICTY
ID
IPR
IWC
ILC
INTELSAT
IL
IBRD
IMF
IA
IRC
ICRC
ILO
ITU
ITRA
IV
IDA
IAHRC
ICJ
ISRAELI
IRS
INMARSAT
ISRAEL
ISLAMISTS
INDO
IZPREL
ITPHUM
ITPGOV
ITF
IBET
IEFIN
INR
IACI
INTERNAL
IDP
IGAD
IEA
ICTR
IIP
INRA
INRO
IF
KJUS
KSCA
KNNP
KU
KCOR
KCRM
KDEM
KTFN
KHLS
KPAL
KWBG
KACT
KGHG
KPAO
KTIA
KIRF
KWMN
KS
KG
KZ
KN
KMDR
KISL
KSPR
KHIV
KPRP
KAWK
KR
KUNR
KDRG
KCIP
KGCC
KTIP
KSUM
KPKO
KVIR
KAWC
KPIN
KGIC
KRAD
KIPR
KOLY
KCFE
KMCA
KE
KV
KICC
KNPP
KBCT
KSEP
KFRD
KFLU
KVPR
KOCI
KBIO
KSTH
KMPI
KCRS
KOMC
KTBT
KPLS
KIRC
KREL
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KFLO
KBTS
KSTC
KTDB
KFSC
KX
KFTFN
KNEI
KIDE
KREC
KMRS
KICA
KPAONZ
KCGC
KSAF
KRGY
KCMR
KRVC
KVRP
KSEO
KCOM
KAID
KTEX
KNUC
KNAR
KNUP
KNNPMNUC
KLIG
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KCRCM
KHDP
KGIT
KNSD
KOMS
KWMM
KPAI
KHSA
KTLA
KO
KMFO
KRCM
KCSY
KSAC
KTRD
KPWR
KID
KWNM
KRIM
KPOA
KCHG
KOM
KSCI
KFIN
KMOC
KESS
KWAC
KMIG
KSEC
KIFR
KDEMAF
KPRV
KBTR
KERG
KTER
KDDG
KPAK
KRFD
KHUM
KDEV
KCFC
KWWMN
KWMNCS
KJUST
MARR
MOPS
MU
MTCRE
MNUC
MY
MASS
MCAP
MOPPS
MAR
MPOS
MO
ML
MR
MASC
MX
MD
MP
MA
MTRE
MIL
MCC
MZ
MK
MDC
MRCRE
MAPS
MV
MI
MEPN
MAPP
MEETINGS
MAS
MTS
MLS
MILI
MTCR
MG
MC
MARAD
MIK
MILITARY
MEDIA
MEPI
MUCN
MEPP
MT
MERCOSUR
MW
MASSMNUC
MQADHAFI
NZ
NATO
NG
NI
NO
NATIONAL
NU
NPT
NIPP
NL
NPG
NS
NA
NGO
NP
NSG
NDP
NAFTA
NR
NC
NH
NE
NSF
NPA
NK
NSSP
NRR
NATOPREL
NSC
NT
NW
NORAD
NEW
NV
NSFO
NAR
NASA
NZUS
OTRA
OVIP
OPRC
OPDC
OSCE
OAS
ODIP
OIIP
OFDP
OVP
OREP
OFFICIALS
OSAC
OEXC
OPCW
OIE
OIC
OFDA
OSCI
OPIC
OBSP
OECD
ON
OCII
OHUM
OES
OCS
OMIG
OPAD
OTR
PGOV
PREL
PHUM
PINR
PTER
PSOE
PINS
PARM
PK
PBTS
PEPR
PM
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PREF
PBIO
PROP
PA
PSI
PINT
PO
PKFK
PL
PAK
PE
POLITICS
PINL
POL
PHSA
PU
PF
POV
PFOR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PARMS
PRGOV
PNAT
POLINT
PRAM
PMAR
PG
PAO
PROG
PRELP
PPA
PCUL
PSEPC
PSA
PREO
PAHO
PGIV
PREFA
PALESTINIAN
PAIGH
POSTS
PTBS
PGOVLO
PORG
PGOVE
PLN
PINF
PAS
PUNE
POLICY
PDEM
PDOV
PCI
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PBT
PHUMPGOV
PMIL
PNG
PP
PS
PHUH
PECON
POGOV
PY
PHUMPREL
PHUS
PRL
PGOC
PNR
PGGV
PROV
PTERE
PGOF
PHUMBA
PEL
RS
RU
RW
REGION
RP
RICE
ROBERT
RSP
RUPREL
RM
RO
RCMP
RSO
RELATIONS
REACTION
REPORT
RIGHTS
ROOD
RF
RFE
RIGHTSPOLMIL
SP
SA
SY
SF
SYR
SENV
SCUL
SOCI
SNAR
SO
SU
SG
STEINBERG
SHUM
SW
SMIG
SR
SZ
SIPRS
SI
SAARC
SPCE
SARS
SN
SYRIA
SANC
SL
SCRS
SC
SENVKGHG
SAN
SNARCS
SHI
SWE
SNARIZ
SIPDIS
SEN
SNARN
SPCVIS
SEVN
SSA
SH
SOFA
SK
ST
TPHY
TU
TRGY
TI
TX
TS
TW
TC
TFIN
TD
TSPA
TH
TT
TIP
TBIO
TSPL
TZ
TERRORISM
TRSY
TN
THPY
TINT
TF
TL
TV
TK
TO
TP
TURKEY
TNGD
TBID
TAGS
TR
UP
US
UNSC
UK
UZ
UE
UNESCO
UV
UNGA
UN
UNMIK
UNO
UY
UAE
UNEP
UG
UNHCR
UNHRC
USUN
UNAUS
USTR
USNC
USOAS
UNCHR
UNCSD
UNDP
USEU
USPS
UNDC
UNDESCO
UNCHC
UNFICYP
UNC
UNODC
UNPUOS
UNCND
UNICEF
UNCHS
UNVIE
USAID
UNIDROIT
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 07MOSCOW1704, RUSSIAN SCIEN...
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #07MOSCOW1704.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
07MOSCOW1704 | 2007-04-14 12:12 | 2011-02-02 00:12 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Moscow |
Appears in these articles: www.sovsekretno.ru |
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHMO #1704/01 1041257
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 141257Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9261
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1922
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001704
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/RUS (GUHA), EUR/ACE, OES/STC (DAUGHARTY)
OSTP FOR MARBURGER
BERLIN FOR HAGEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2017
TAGS: KIPR KNNP KPAO TBIO PREL RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN SCIEN...
C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001704 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/RUS (GUHA), EUR/ACE, OES/STC (DAUGHARTY) OSTP FOR MARBURGER BERLIN FOR HAGEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2017 TAGS: KIPR KNNP KPAO TBIO PREL RS
Classified By: EST Counselor Daniel O'Grady. Reasons: 1.4 (d)
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a luncheon meeting with EST April 10, Kurchatov Institute Director Mikhail Koval'chuk weighed in on issues ranging from Russia's proposed floating nuclear power stations to the power struggles between the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the Ministry of Education and Science (MES). Expansive and relaxed, making references from Lermontov to Chilean wine, Koval'chuk defied the stereotype of an ossified, impoverished post-Soviet scientist. Instead, he proudly cited his many roles: energetically spearheading the GOR-funded research into nanotechnology, overseeing an empire of 20 scientific institutes under the umbrella of the Kurchatov Institute, as well as heading the Russian Institute of Crystallography.
¶2. (C) Flipping through his business cards, Koval'chuk passed us one with his title as the Secretary of President Putin's Council on Science and Technology. A native of St. Petersburg, Koval'chuk is one of Education and Science Minister Andrey Fursenko's closest science advisors, providing input on the GOR nanotechnology program and overall federal funding for science. Koval'chuk, an energetic 60, has also been a power player within the struggle to reform the RAS. In 2005, some speculated that he would replace RAS President Yury Osipov. However, RAS did not vote to elevate Koval'chuk from a Corresponding Member to a Full Member during the spring 2006 elections, and thus the RAS charter prevented Koval'chuk from being made the RAS President. Despite this apparent setback, Koval'chuk's high-visibility positions on the President's Science Council and as Director of the Institute of Crystallography and the Kurchatov behemoth guarantee his continuing role in shaping the direction of Russian science. Koval'chuk was joined at the lunch by Dr. Oleg Naraykin, Deputy Director of the Kurchatov Institute and a chair at the prestigious Bauman Technical University in Moscow. END SUMMARY.
----------------- "Europe Needs Us" -----------------
¶3. (C) When asked what measures should be taken to attract more young researchers to science, Koval'chuk largely dismissed the much-lamented dearth of young talent in Russia. Recruiting and retaining young scientists has been simple, he asserted. He said the Kurchatov Institute has more than 30 university chairs on its staff, who continually identify and recruit the best and brightest from their universities. This has ensured an influx of young researchers. Once hired, they are likely to stay on. "Everything I want, everything I need, I can find here," Koval'chuk stated, adding that Moscow even has more restaurants than Paris or New York. In Soviet times, foreign travel presented a glamorous, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Now, he said, his young scientists are so blas about international travel and so content with their cosmopolitan living standards in Moscow that he struggles to get them to attend conferences abroad. "They are afraid they might lose their place in our labs if they are gone too long."
¶4. (C) Nevertheless, Koval'chuk has built strong ties between his own Institute of Crystallography and the Kurchatov Institute and their European counterparts. The ranks of Soviet emigre scientists throughout European labs have provided ready-made links between Koval'chuk's staff and European researchers, he noted. He has worked assiduously to provide quasi-internships in these labs, particularly in Germany, with an eye towards increased cooperation in the coming decades. Koval'chuk remarked that European scientists and officials clamor to collaborate with his institutes, particularly regarding nanotechnology research. "The U.S. is far ahead of us separately," he said, referring to Russia and Europe. "But when we combine, we can overtake you." In Koval'chuk's view, the Europeans "need" the Russians to keep up with American scientists. Confident in his optimistic assessment, Koval'chuk predicted great results from the Russian-European relationship.
¶5. (C) When asked why he focused his ties so intensely on Europe, Koval'chuk said with a shrug that it is largely a matter of convenience. "Two hours, and I'm in Frankfurt, and no jet lag," he stated. Additionally, he noted, the Schengen visa regime allows him to use the same visa throughout most of the European Union. Koval'chuk claimed that the Italian Ambassador to Russia had personally secured and delivered to him a multi-year, multi-entry Schengen visa. In contrast, Koval'chuk recounted the "hassles" he had encountered in obtaining an American visa, still smarting from the experience. He said he had not bothered to visit the United States in more than ten years. (NOTE: We offered our assistance should he change his mind about U.S. travel. END NOTE.)
--------------------- Potential Cooperation ---------------------
¶6. (C) Koval'chuk indicated he would welcome increased cooperation with the United States. He said he would embrace a program that provided scientific connections similar to the internship system he has built for Kurchatov researchers in European institutes, noting that American labs also boast large numbers of Russian emigres. Koval'chuk said he views nuclear cooperation as a particularly promising sphere. Russia and the U.S. could combine their talents and go farther than they ever could on their own, he said. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership is one appropriate initiative for improving nuclear technology, Koval'chuk said, but there should be others. For example, he said, Russia and the U.S. should collaborate on the concept of floating nuclear power plants, which Rosatom has put forward. Such plants are ideal for certain regions of the world, he argued, because in the event of regime instability, the plants could be removed. Therefore, they would accord both Russia and the U.S. significant leverage. Koval'chuk said that his unfortunate impression is that the United States has decided it has no interest in working jointly with Russia on building floating nuclear power plants. We demurred. We are still in the process of learning more about this Russian initiative, we noted, and no decisions have been made.
----------------------- The Politics of Science -----------------------
¶7. (C) Koval'chuk said he believes science reform is both appropriate and overdue and noted his own personal ties to the RAS, of which his father-in-law is a member. Singling out Nobel Laureate Zhores Alferov, Koval'chuk claimed that many of the older Academicians have entered into business relationships that improperly use Academy property. Alferov, for instance, has ensured that his son operates restaurants and dining facilities on Academy property in St. Petersburg. Reluctant to lose these questionable sources of income, RAS officials have hid behind the shield of science's purity and nobility in fighting off the MES, Koval'chuk contended. He Koval'chuk shared the comment a RAS Vice President made to him a few years ago. Academicians, the VP claimed, had figured out that by saying nothing to protest government reforms, they would get nothing. By raising a huge outcry, however, they not only protected much of what they have, but could squeeze out concessions from the government in exchange for acquiescing to a few points. Former Deputy Minister Dmitriy Livanov, who championed the MES onslaught against RAS management, recently departed his post at the Ministry to become the Rector of the Institute for Metals and Special Alloys. When we observed that Livanov is young to head an institute, Koval'chuk said with a chuckle that this plum post had been "pre-paid" and insinuated that Livanov had been promised the Rectorship, as a quid pro quo for his vigorous attacks on the Academy.
¶8. (C) Livanov was instrumental in the dissemination of a controversial draft charter, credited to the MES, that would drastically restructure the Academy's management. During its March meetings, the Academy rejected the MES version and approved its own, one that made no mention of reforms such as the proposed Supervisory Council. Media commentaries speculated that once the MES version of the charter was in place, Koval'chuk would be installed as the quasi-RAS President. Koval'chuk, with visible irritation, criticized his treatment by the press, brightening when he observed that the RAS charter has already been combed over by various Ministries, which have in turn informed the RAS of all the instances where the new charter does not comply with Russian law. Russian law also requires that the new charter be approved by the MES before June 1. Should Minister Fursenko not approve a charter, all federal funding for science will halt. Koval'chuk said that the RAS would be forced to compromise, much as the Russian Academy of Education recently did by enacting a charter that included a provision for a Supervisory Council.
¶9. (C) Yet science reform should run both ways, Koval'chuk noted. Koval'chuk decried the corruption that is endemic in the budgetary process. In the early 1990s, he said, a scientist would approach the government and ask for a large scale grant. A Ministry official would offer one-tenth to carry out the project. Both the scientist and the official understood that the one-tenth funding would accomplish nothing, but some funds went to the scientist, some were pocketed by the official, and no real science was accomplished. Fursenko, Koval'chuk said, recognized the problem when he took office and has been slowly pruning the deadwood from the lower and middle ranks of the MES, a process Koval'chuk deemed "nearly complete."
----------------- Onward and Upward -----------------
¶10. (C) COMMENT: Koval'chuk displayed a glimmer of schadenfreude at the quandary now engulfing the RAS leadership. Unlike many of the RAS Vice Presidents, Koval'chuk appears dynamic, forward-thinking and pragmatic. While the RAS has been consumed with internal strife, Koval'chuk has quietly and effectively expanded the Kurchatov Institute into a virtual empire of Russian nanotechnology. He has encouraged a steady stream of young researchers between European labs and Moscow. Koval'chuk, though slightly bitter about his recent treatment in the press -- none of which seemed particularly vitriolic to us -- has also managed to remain above the fray. This will serve him well should the Supervisory Council be created, as many predict will happen later this spring. Koval'chuk is arguably a natural choice to head the Council, which would provide him with yet another impressive business card to hand out. BURNS