Medvedev: Russia to spend $14bn on science

Russia is to spend some 440 billion rubles (around $14 billion) on federal programs to develop Russia’s scientific and technological complex in 2014-2020, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday at a government meeting. Most of that funding – 335 billion rubles – will be provided from the federal budget, he was quoted by Russian News Agency (Ria Novosti) as adding. The cash should help Russia create a competitive base for pursuit of applied research projects and development of priority scientific fields, he said. The program should also stimulate an inflow of young specialists into various research areas, Medvedev said. Medvedev has championed a move toward reorientation of the Russian economy toward high-tech products ever since he was President (2008-2012). He has been a major proponent of the Skolkovo project, a high-tech hub including research institutes and a supporting foundation in the Moscow Region. Russia has also set up a scientific project support fund known as the Future Research Fund, touted as an analog to the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to assist promising scientific projects with military potential.