Russian Academy of Sciences

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(Redirected from USSR Academy of Sciences)

Image:Kunstkamera (Saint-Petersburg).jpg Russian Academy of Sciences (Росси́йская Акаде́мия Нау́к, shortened to PAH) is the national academy of Russia. This organization includes scientific institutes from all across the Russian Federation. It is an honour to be elected to membership of the Academy, and as of 2005 there are slightly less than 500 full members of the academy. During the time of the Soviet Union it was known as the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The Academy is headquartered in Moscow.

History

The Academy was founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented in the Senate decree of January 22, 1724. It was called St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences between 1724 and 1917. Those invited to work there included mathematicians Leonhard Euler, Christian Goldbach, Nicholas and Daniel Bernoulli, embryologists Caspar Friedrich Wolff, astronomer and geographer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, physicist Georg Wolfgang Kraft and historian Gerhard Friedrich Müller.

Under the leadership of Princess Ekaterina Dashkova (1783-96), the Academy was engaged on compiling the huge Academic Dictionary of the Russian Language. Expeditions to explore remote parts of the country had Academy scientists as their leaders or most active participants. These included Vitus Bering's Second Kamchatka Expedition of 1733–43, and Peter Simon Pallas's expeditions to Siberia.

In 1925 the Soviet government recognized the Russian Academy of Sciences as the "highest all-Union scientific institution" and renamed it the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The USSR Academy of Sciences helped to establish national Academies of Sciences in all Soviet republics (with the exception of Russia), in many cases delegating prominent scientists to live and work in other republics. Image:Sk334.jpg

In 1934 the Academy headquarters moved from Saint Petersburg to the Russian capital, Moscow, together with a number of academic institutes.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 2, 1991, Russian Academy of Sciences was restored, inheriting all facilities of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the territory of Russia.

The Russian Academy of Sciences includes a large number of educational and research institutions such as

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology does not belong to RAS (it belongs to Ministry of Education of Russian Federation), but the system of education ("Phystech System") uses many institutes of RAS (as well as many others institutions) as educational centers.

Member institutions are linked by a dedicated Russian Space Science Internet (RSSI). The RSSI, starting with just 3 members, now has 3100 members, including 57 of the largest research institutions.

See also

External links

fr:Académie des sciences de Russie it:Accademia Russa delle Scienze ja:ロシア科学アカデミー pl:Rosyjska Akademia Nauk ru:Российская академия наук