Aliaksandr Vaitovich: Free person is a danger to authorities

Over the last decade the Academy of Sciences turned to the trade of services. The point of no return hasn’t been passed yet; however, Belarusan science is enough close to it.

This was reported in the talk with the EuroBelarus Information Service by Aliaksandr Vaitovich, the academician and the chief of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus during 1997-2001 and the chairperson of the Council of the Republic of Belarus during 2000-2003.

He also shared his opinion about the reasons of frequent failures of the Belarusan economy and science.

- Aliaksandr, the country is speaking about modernization of the economy yet again. But once we have already had modernization; you were the chairperson of the Council of Republic then. Why it came to be unsuccessful at that time?

- First, what we need is the modernization of the whole system, not only certain parts. Without political modernization no modernization of the economy can be performed. These mechanisms are interrelated very closely. In order to make the economy work, people need freedom, security and supremacy of law, as well as the initiative. I think this is the main reason. You can put money in it, like it was with the rural economy, but it wouldn’t stimulate economy. Because it is only a part of the economy; however, modernization of one part doesn’t cure the whole mechanism. People who have no self-responsibility are only working to make things look good for people at the top.

- And you think that the authorities don’t understand the problem, don’t you?

-  This is the hard question for me to answer… Perhaps, they don’t. Perhaps they do, but see very big danger in moving towards this direction. Because talking about modernization is one thing, but real modernization will cause political reforms, which are dangerous for the ruling top. Free person is a danger.

- Movement forward is impossible without contribution of research into manufacture. You can’t but know about it. What is the situation with the Belarusan science?

- Еhe situation in the sphere of science is grave indeed. A decade over which the National Academy of Sciences was under Mikhail Miasnikovich’s leadership had serious consequences. Something close to the economy of scientific services was being built. What did the Presidium make? It introduced “an infallible plan” to science, ordering, for instance, to make contracts for a certain sum in a certain period. Such practice of issuing directions is unheard anywhere in the world! I think it is not about innovation; it is about robbing the country. Because developing certain product is not only about making groundwork bringing it to the level of a model. Because its maintenance and work on this project costs more than the peanuts it is sold for. Moreover, if we sell this development, it immediately cut us off from it. The main thing in the innovation economy is the production.  And if we produced devices ourselves, we would gain much more money from it.

Now we are charged with the managerial duties, which destroy the science.

 - Over the last years a lot was said about the possible solution of the “brain drain” problem. Was it really resolved?

- Ridiculous as it is, but my pay sheet as a head of a laboratory for the previous month together with the additional payment for my candidate’s degree made up 3,6 million rubles (about 320 euros).That’s just perfect for the fifteen years of work. And that is why the youth doesn’t go to science these days. Even if someone with brains comes, this person will upgrade his skills only to run away to the West, where he will receive adequate payment and excellent working conditions. Because in Belarus we don’t have that. I am very disappointed with the management policy in the scientific sphere.

The problem of personnel aging is none the less important. The statistics in the Academy is the following: 60 per cent of PhDs are older than 60. Over the last decade no one introduced any reforms, despite the fact that Aliaksandr Lukashenka talked about them more than once. And the situation remains the same, as elsewhere in the economy. And how it could possibly be different? All the resources are already employed. We could have done a lot, if we developed innovational manufactory and introduced the reforms.

- So absolutely no optimism about the bright future?

- Why not? Many of us have children and grandchildren; so I’m trying to be optimistic. I don’t think that the country would be destroyed due to the bad management. When the management leaves, I think that the things will sort themselves out. There are no cases in the modern history when the country disappears because of the weird government. I am well aware that things are not done at short notice; but I hope that at least our grand- and great-grandchildren will live happily in well-off Belarus.