Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia Valery Falkov

Dear friends! Congratulations on the Day of Russian Science! This is a special, unifying holiday for all of us. The outstanding discoveries of domestic scientists and engineers have more than once set the pace for scientific and technological progress of all mankind. We are the heirs of a huge intellectual tradition, internationally recognized scientific schools.

Today we celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Its history is a continuous accumulation of knowledge, comprehension of the laws of nature, and in the 20th century - a powerful industrial breakthrough of our country and truly incredible achievements - penetration into the most remote eras and corners of the world, the conquest of space and the ocean depths, immersion in the secrets of the atom and the earth's crust.

Since the time of the founder of the Academy - Emperor Peter the Great - domestic science has served as a reliable support for the country in the most difficult times. Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev developed plans for the industrial development of Donbass. Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov used his knowledge to save the lives of the defenders of besieged Sevastopol, and Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov created an entire energy industry and provided the Soviet Union with strategic parity in the field of nuclear weapons.

The pride of Russia are our Nobel laureates - Sechenov, Butlerov, Kantarovich, and many others. Among them is the outstanding chemist Nikolai Nikolaevich Semenov, whose name is associated with the creation of the theory of chemical chain reactions.

Our science is, first of all, talented people. Hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts in their field - graduate students and academicians, theorists and practitioners, physicists and lyricists. Each of you keeps the Promethean fire of knowledge in your soul and contributes to a great and important cause.

There are enormous efforts of the state to support you. Projects as part of the Decade of Science and Technology, investments in updating scientific infrastructure, new youth laboratories and grant programs.

To devote oneself to science means to remain young forever. Always look beyond the horizon, do not stop there, live a lofty dream of truth. Science is a calling, a life choice available to few. With all my heart I wish you new discoveries, inexhaustible energy and creative inspiration!

Happy holiday, dear colleagues!