Mikhail Kovalchuk: The story of the brain drain from Russia has long since ended
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We remain strong practically everywhere where we were, nothing has changed here. It’s just that some developments have remained unclaimed for many years and need some renovation. But the fact that the potential is enormous is shown, for example, by the fact that in a short period of time, on the initiative of the president,
we have made hypersonics, which no one else in the world has, and the West cannot catch up with us in this yet.
Our technological might grew out of the atomic project, in fact, we became a technological superpower only after its implementation. Yes, we were catching up with America when creating the atomic bomb. But then we were always first. The first hydrogen bomb - 1953, the first nuclear power plant - 1954, the first nuclear icebreaker - 1959. And also nuclear medicine, our research nuclear reactors were among the best in the world.
The same in space. The first satellite - October 4, 1957, the first dog, monkeys, the first man in orbit, the first spacewalk, the first collective flight, the first orbital station "Mir", the flyby of the Moon, the landing of the lunar rover on the Moon. Today, a "relative" of our Soviet lunar rover walks on the Moon. We should be proud of it.
Much of what the "new space powers" are doing today is based on developments made in our country decades ago. This means that now it is easier for us to create something new together on a common basis. We have a huge number of ideas today, for example, the exploration of the Moon and deep space.
These developments need to be promoted, while securing our technological leadership.
We need to know our worth and build relationships with partners correctly. For example, a thermonuclear project is successfully developing in China today. But we must remember that it began with the Soviet Tokamak installation, which was installed there in the early 2000s. And then we designed a new generation Tokamak together, which is one of the best today. And mutually beneficial, promising relationships must be built on the accumulated joint experience.
The story of the brain drain from Russia has long since ended. It is obvious that today in Russia there are unique opportunities for a scientific career, development. Scientists from abroad are already coming to us. Look, representatives of 100 countries have gathered in the national center "Russia" to discuss the future in Moscow. And this is happening soon after the BRICS summit in Kazan. Therefore, we are now reformatting the world.
An under-ice shuttle for the Northern Sea Route?
- Of course. It may not surface or surface when and where necessary. This is also important from a safety point of view. Firstly, it is an uninhabited area. Secondly, it is underwater. In principle, it can be unmanned, but for this the reactor must be unattended. There are many tasks there, they will last for decades. But there are no ideological questions for us there.
