55°42′38.86″N 37°34′40.13″E / 55.7107944°N 37.5778139°E
![]() the Russian Academy of Sciences building in Moscow | |
Formation | 1724 |
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Headquarters | Moscow |
President | Gennady Krasnikov (since September 20, 2022) |
The Russian Academy of Sciences (Russian: Российская академия наук, shortened to Russian: РАН, RAN) is a network of scientific research institutes across the Russian Federation. consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the country. It also includes other scientific and social groups like libraries, publishing units and hospitals.
The Academy was started in 1724 as the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences. It had various names and became the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. In 1991 it became again the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Like the French Academy of Sciences and unlike The Royal Society in Britain, the Russian Academy of Sciences has two types of membership. The top-level members are academicians (819 scientists, as of April 2024). The next-level members are corresponding members (1081 scientists). There are also professors of the RAN (713 scientists). 16 professors became academicians and 163 professors became corresponding members. These are now counted twice: as professors and as members. The last elections were organized in May-June 2022. To be elected to the Academy is a great honor for any researcher.