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Vladimir Putin, the Minister of Science and Education Andrei Fursenko and President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Osipov discussed measures that would increase researchers' salaries and financing for academia.

Up until recently, Russian academic community and various departments and agencies held animated discussions on prospective reforms in academia.

At the meeting, Minister A. Fursenko and the head of the Russian Academy of Sciences Y. Osipov presented the modernization programme to the head of state. The programme includes organisational, legal and financial measures designed to improve and to increase innovation in the knowledge community.

One of the programme's main aims is increasing academia's attractiveness for young people.

The Ministry of Education and Science proposed increasing the average salary for Academy of Sciences scholars to 30,000 RR (more than 1,000 USD) over a three-year period. It was emphasized that this is more connected with budget restructuring inside the Academy of Sciences, than with money received from the government. Yuri Osipov said that the Academy plans to create jobs by drawing on non-budgetary sources. Simultaneously, the Academy plans to reduce the number of budgeted positions by 20 percent over the next three years.

Minister A. Fursenko added that along with discussing additional financing, it is important to support young scholars' career prospects. In particular, the accelerated growth of young scholars' incomes as compared to the salaries of researchers who already hold positions is being discussed.

The idea of reviving schools for young academics within the Commonwealth of Independent States, which is linked to reviving one knowledge community on the territory of the former Soviet Union, was also put forward.

Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that the heads of the CIS will support this idea, and suggested that it be discussed at the next summit of the Commonwealth, at the end of August in Kazan.