Russia's academic revival a daunting task

By Simon Marginson. WHEN the Soviet state collapsed in the early 1990s, Russia was a world leader in education, science and technology. The infrastructure was developed largely in isolation from the other zones of research strength in Western Europe and North America. Soviet scientists accessed the world literature but did not share much.
Russia was strong in mathematics and in research in the physical sciences, which were funded generously as strategically important national priorities. It had a high rate of participation in tertiary education. Scientists and, to a lesser extent, school and university teachers were well paid and in good standing. Read more...