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“It was with deep sorrow that I learned about the great tragedy that happened in Australia, the massive forest fires that swept through the south-eastern part of the continent. This has caused significant damage to the economy and, most tragically, has claimed the lives of many people – the message of the President of Russia reads. – Please convey my sincere condolences, words of sympathy and support to the friends and relatives of the deceased and my wishes for a quick recovery to the victims.”

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The federal law signed by the President makes changes regarding the location of the Victory Day military parades, the weapons and military equipment used, as well as the occurrence of artillery salutes.

According to the law these events will be carried out using copies of the official symbol of Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War – Victory banners in Moscow, Russia's capital, in the cities-heroes, in the cities where the headquarters of military commands, fleets, general armies and the Caspian flotilla are deployed.

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Under the Federal Law’s provisions, electoral deposits have been abolished as a means of support for the registration of candidates in elections to state and local government bodies.

Amendments have also been made to the Federal Law ‘On Election of the President of the Russian Federation’. There is no practice of electoral deposits in presidential elections, and the substance of the amendments in question is different and aims to unify Russian electoral legislation following the abolition of the electoral deposit.

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The Federal law defines the basic principles and means of ensuring access to this information, as well as the process governing its provision.

The law pays significant attention to information about the activities of state agencies and local government agencies that exists on the internet.

Some changes will be introduced to the law “On the media” in relation to the adoption of this law.

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Measures to ensure Russia’s continued social and economic development were the subject of discussion.

The President stated the need to adjust budget policy in the financial crisis situation but stressed that the authorities should fulfill all social commitments, maintain macroeconomic stability and not let prices rise too far. Mr Medvedev said that the country has the resources it needs to maintain budget expenditure in 2009 without having to resort to borrowing. 

Taking part in the meeting were Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Naryshkin, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Deputy Prime Minister and Government Chief of Staff Sergei Sobyanin, Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich, Healthcare and Social Development Minister Tatyana Golikova, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina, Chairman of the Central Bank Sergei Ignatyev, and his first deputy, Alexei Ulyukayev.

Opening Remarks at Meeting on Economic Issues

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The subjects discussed included introduction of a new wage payment system in the science sector, the brain drain issue, and solutions to the problem of providing young scientists with housing.

Mr Medvedev called this a priority and said that all market economy possibilities should be used to resolve this problem.

Mr Osipov informed the President that, for the first time in the last 20 years, the Government has drafted and approved a common programme for fundamental academic research.

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The first recipients of the award were doctor Yevgeny Achkasov, mineralogy specialist Sergei Krivovichev, mathematician Alexander Kuznetsov, and astrophysicist Mikhail Revnivtsev. 

The award ceremony, timed to coincide with Russian Science Day, took place in the Kremlin’s Catherine Hall. Dmitry Medvedev congratulated the laureates on their achievements and presented them with medals, diplomas, and the accompanying certificates.

In his remarks at the ceremony, the President noted the importance of incentives and prizes and announced that he has signed a decree increasing the Presidential Grants for young scientists. The decree will increase the grant for a Ph.D. degree holder to 600,000 roubles (around $16,000) and for a D.Sc. degree holder to one million roubles (around $28,000), Mr Medvedev said, expressing the hope that the increases would give an important boost to raising the level of research.

Mr Medvedev signed the Decree ‘On the Russian Federation President Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists’ in July 2008. The decree established a prize that is awarded to citizens of Russia for their important contribution to developing Russian science and their innovative work. The prize aims to encourage further research and create good conditions for new scientific discoveries and innovative achievements.

Speech at Ceremony Awarding the 2008 Russian Federation President’s Prize for Science and Innovation by Young Scientists

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The Russian Federation President Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists has been awarded to:

Yevgeny Achkasov, D.Sc. in medicine and senior lecturer at the I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy, for developing and using in clinical practice innovative methods for diagnosing and treating disorders of the pancreas;  

Sergei Krivovichev, D.Sc. in geology and mineralogy and department head at St. Petersburg State University, for his fundamental contribution to the development of structural mineralogy and crystal chemistry of materials;

Alexander Kuznetsov, Ph.D. in physics and mathematics and senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ V.A. Steklov Institute of Mathematics, for his important scientific achievements in algebraic geometry;

Mikhail Revnivtsev, D.Sc. degree holder in physics and mathematics and senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute, for the results of his scientific research that has made an important contribution to understanding the nature of galactic and extra-galactic sources of x-ray radiation.

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