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Expert Magazine: "We Are Creating the Scientific and Technological Framework of the Country"
10.04.2026
Minister of Science and Education Valery Falkov on how science translates into economic achievements.
Russia historically possesses a strong scientific school and developed research infrastructure. However, the work of hundreds of thousands of scientists must yield practical results in the form of innovations for industry, medicine, agriculture, and other sectors. Minister Valery Falkov explains how to optimize higher education and science for maximum efficiency.
Personnel: Russia employs nearly 340,000 researchers and is among global leaders in this indicator. The negative trend of the 2010s, when the number of scientists was declining, has been overcome. The main barrier is competition with IT and finance, which offer more attractive starting career conditions.
Thanks to government initiatives, the number of scientists under 30 has grown by 4.3% over three years. In 2024, nearly 2% of university graduates (14,200 people) entered science, more than half in research positions. The youth laboratory program has played a key role. The number of doctoral students (aspirants) is also growing: by the end of 2024, it reached nearly 126,000, which is 40% higher than three years earlier.
Postgraduate study: Effectiveness is traditionally measured by the share of those defending their dissertations on time. However, this does not account for those who defend after graduation (about 50%). In Europe, about 65% of doctoral students defend within 3.5–4.5 years of enrollment. Remaining problems include weak supervision and the need for students to work elsewhere.
The Ministry of Science, together with Rostec, is developing a pilot "industrial doctoral program," where dissertations address specific industrial challenges. This helps train researchers who can combine fundamental science with creating sought-after technologies.
Cooperation with Business: Supporting science-business cooperation is a priority in many countries. In Russia, the barrier has been a lower level of business innovation activity compared to global leaders. The situation is now gradually improving.
