To answer, what is the geography of the scientific complex of Russia, it is first necessary to understand the conditions under which it was formed. Since the country's modern scientific complex was created back in the Soviet Union, the location of its enterprises on the territory of Russia was not subject to market logic, but was consistent only with the interests of state security and the ideas of the Soviet government about the cities of the future, since many cities with large scientific enterprises were built from scratch.
Science after the October Revolution
Despite the fact that high-class science still existed in the Russian Empire, in Soviet Russia it was given special importance, since, according to the new ideology, the transformation and reconstruction of the world should have occurred with the direct participation of scientists from different fields. In the new country, a literacy program was adopted, schools were opened and universal primary education was introduced.
Since 1918, thirty-three research institutes were opened in Russia, the largest of which were such as the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute and the Physicotechnical Institute named after A. F. Ioffe RAS, State Optical Institute, Institute for the Study of the Brain and Mental Activities, X-ray and Radiological Institute, Institute for the Study of the North. In the next five years, the number of research institutes reached fifty-five, and in 1927 there were already ninety of them. Based on such a number of institutions, it can be assumed that already at that time the geography of the scientific complex of Russia was very diverse.
Large scientific centers
The Soviet period saw the unconditional flowering of science in the country. Therefore, talking about the geography of the scientific complex of Russia, it is worth pointing out that the main centers were created back in the USSR.
Soviet science was characterized by extreme centralization both in a geographical sense and in management. The main research centers were formed around the largest universities in the country, located in old educational centers like Moscow, Leningrad, Kazan and Kiev.
During World War II, many research institutes were evacuated to the east of the country - to the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. So there were large engineering and scientific collaborations in Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Chelyabinsk and Novosibirsk. It is worth noting that the research institutes of these cities were focused on such large manufacturing enterprises as Uralvagonzavod, Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant and many aircraft manufacturing enterprises of Novosibirsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
USSR legacy
Following the tradition of centralization that developed back in the Soviet period, Russian science is also organized mainly around the Academy of Sciences, which includes numerous research institutes, laboratories and educational institutions.
In addition to the central administration of the Academy of Sciences in Moscow, the Academy also has three regional branches in the Far East, Siberia and the Urals. In addition, there is an extensive network of research centers located in St. Petersburg, North Ossetia, the Kola Peninsula, Kabardino-Balkaria, Samara Region and Rostov-on-Don.
A large scientific center is also located in Saratov, where they are engaged in fundamental research on nuclear energy, and create environmental projects and projects focused on the production of renewable energy.
Science in the North Caucasus
A conversation about the geography of the scientific complex of Russia cannot be substantive without mentioning the North Caucasian branch of the Academy of Sciences. This branch includes the institutes of North Ossetia engaged in geophysical research, social science, biomedicine and fundamental mathematics. However, a special area of interest for the Vladikavkaz branch of the Academy of Sciences is a center for the study of Scythian-Alan civilization.
An important center for scientific research in the North Caucasus is also the Dagestan department of the Russian Academy of Sciences. As part of the Dagestan branch, the Amirkhanov Institute of Physics operates, created in 1955 on the basis of a physical laboratory, which was opened by Khabibula Ibragimovich Amirkhanov. There is also a department for mathematical research and applied programming, a department of geophysics and geometry, but the most important specialization is the study of biological resources of the Caspian Sea and surrounding areas, which is carried out on the basis of the Caspian Institute of Biological Resources. For guests from other regions of great interest is the Mountain Botanical Garden, which contains plants growing in the region.
St. Petersburg Science Center
Petersburg is an integral part of the history of the development of the scientific complex of Russia. It was in St. Petersburg for the first time that the Academy of Sciences was organized, which is why in the pre-revolutionary period it was often called the St. Petersburg Academy, that is, at the place of its actual stay.
Despite the fact that after the revolution the main governing structures were transferred to Moscow, in Leningrad, nevertheless, very important scientific institutions remained.
To date, the Physicotechnical Institute named after A.F. Ioffe, Institute of Applied Astronomy, Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg branch of the Special Astrophysical Observatory, Institute of Electrophysics and Energy and many other institutes and laboratories.
Special mention deserves scientific activity in the field of the humanities, such as literature, philology and linguistics, which, however, works on the border with mathematics. The St. Petersburg Philological School has fame far beyond the borders of Russia.
Ural branch of the Academy of Sciences
What is the geography of the scientific complex of Russia? The answer to this question can be very extensive, because large scientific and research centers are located throughout the country. Almost every region has a significant laboratory, an important research institute or a branch of the Academy of Sciences. In addition, in the regional centers there are numerous corresponding members of the Academy of Sciences, around which communities are formed that specialize in a particular field of knowledge.
The Ural branch of the Academy includes representative offices, laboratories, research stations in such regions as the Sverdlovsk Region and Yekaterinburg, the Komi Republic, Perm Territory and the Udmurt Republic. The South Ural Scientific Center also occupies an important place in the structure of the scientific complex of Russia.
Today, the Russian Government invests significant funds and resources in the development of new branches of science, both on the basis of existing scientific organizations, and on the basis of new institutes and research centers. Federal universities are being created, within the framework of which various universities are integrated, which gives significant advantages in multidisciplinary research.
In addition, the Skolkovo Research Center was created in the Moscow Region, in which the necessary conditions are created for the development of such branches of knowledge as nanotechnology and programming. The center also has a university, where they study under the MBA programs.