Identifying the subject in the strategy for scientific and technological development of the Russian federation

Abstract

The feasibility of the key theses of the Draft Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation until 2035 is analyzed. These theses, related to the scope of R&D financing in the Russian Federation, investments from the national business sector, inventive activity in the knowledge generation sector, and R&D personnel productivity, are compared to the respective indicators in other countries. Attention is drawn to the fact that the resources to increase in the medium term the scope of state financing of the Russian scientific and technological sphere are exhausted and, hence, the only way to accomplish an increase in domestic R&D expenditure up to 1.77% of the GDP, planned by Presidential Decree no. 599, implies a sharp growth in extrabudgetary funds. Special focus is placed on the budget’s imbalance relative to the staff size, owing to which Russia has one of the lowest “domestic R&D expenditures per researcher” indicators among developed countries. It is concluded that the draft strategy erroneously considers as the main subject of the country’s scientific and technological development the scientist and research organization instead of the national business sector.