A power struggle in which the Russian government appeared poised to subjugate the Russian Academy of Sciences has relaxed, at least for now.
Founded in 1724 by Peter the Great, the academy has 400 or so institutes where the bulk of Russia's fundamental research is carried out. The academy has about 1200 members and more than 100 000 researchers and support staff in its institutes. Its annual budget of around $2 billion comes largely from the federal government.
In recent years the Russian government has been insisting on reforms in the academy. Things came to a head after new laws went into effect late last year requiring the country's president to approve the academy's choice of president and its charter.
At a three-day general assembly at the end of March, academy members adopted a charter under which they accept that the academy president must be approved by Russia's president. The...
