I’ll take you to the museum

On September 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the rector of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) Alexei Komissarov and heard several unexpected statements from him. Kommersant special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov draws attention to the fact that the iconic museum-reserve in Tsarskoe Selo near St. Petersburg may suddenly become an operating educational institution.

“This is the largest educational institution in Europe, 47 branches,” said Alexey Komissarov about the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. “Indeed, a huge scale, a large number of programs!”

That is, if we can’t take anything else, then we take it in size. Yes, the sizes are ours.

“Science is developed,” continued Alexey Komissarov. “We have two academicians, nine corresponding members, and a large number of doctors of science.” 127 doctors of science work at the academy and do a fairly large amount of research work!

I can imagine how the president of, say, Princeton University would talk about this:

— Our students were US presidents Woodrow Wilson, James Madison, John Kennedy… John Nash, Albert Einstein, Andrew Wiles taught…

But, noted Alexey Komissarov, RANEPA has a School of Governors:

— We have 50 heads of regions from her alone!

To be fair, Princeton has produced only 24 Nobel Prize winners.

— Our pride is our students! – admitted Alexey Komissarov. “They simply amaze me with their talents, their abilities.” The student council has become the best in Moscow!

Let’s be objective: the presence of a student council is perhaps the only thing that Princeton and RANEPA have in common.

“We are now paying special attention, of course, to patriotic education,” added Alexey Komissarov. “We believe that this is very important.” We have now created a military training center that is actively working, it has a huge competition, a large number of guys want to study there. Patriotic club “Avangard”! A large volume of various projects to support the SVO (special military operation.— “Kommersant”): they collect humanitarian aid, write letters, and support the guys in every possible way, we invite you to perform!

RANEPA students themselves, however, receive a deferment from military service.

“Currently there is a separate educational program “DNA of Russia” – this is training teachers in the basics of Russian statehood, because, unfortunately, there were different approaches to this area,” added Alexey Komissarov. “We have launched a training program for those who want from the very beginning after school to dedicate ourselves to the civil service, we made such a program, we called it “Russian Resource”.

Well, there is no such thing anywhere. And probably won’t.

And at least the etymology of the expression “I’m not in the Resource” is now clear.” And then there was the opinion that it was connected with English psychotherapeutic discourse. In fact, this is about the fact that the competition for one of the RANEPA programs simply did not pass. And it didn’t go away from the word “at all.”

“Of course,” Alexey Komissarov said honestly, “we need to work on educational programs, on their audit.”

And then Vladimir Putin perked up for the first time:

— Who will do the audit? The audit must be independent!

Words like “audit” excite his imagination.

— We attract external consultants, now we are asking teachers from other universities! – the rector explained. – There was very strong resistance, because how can we let strangers into our kitchen? But it’s okay, we tell everyone that we are doing this for the common good!

But in reality, not everyone needs to know.

Alexey Komissarov noticed that the president does not look at the detailed album very carefully.

– Maybe just look through it? – he suggested. – These are infrastructure updates in St. Petersburg, Moscow…

That is, nothing worth spending time on.

“We are making new canteens, courtyards, and renovating campuses,” added the rector. “We want to do everything so that the infrastructure…

And then suddenly the president, once again interested, interrupted the rector:

— Alexey Gennadievich, what do you mean by mobilization of scientific potential? What is mobilization of scientific potential?

Are we really talking about canceling the deferment for graduate students?

“True, it’s not the best formulation,” agreed Alexey Komissarov, “but it’s a very interesting scientific question!” On the one hand, it is very strong, there are a lot of strong, indeed, scientists…

That is, there is no need to cancel the deferment.

– On the other hand, as often happens in science, people do what is really interesting to them, there is nothing wrong with that. But still, our confidence, the confidence of my team, is that we need to make more use of the scientific potential of the academy to solve pressing problems.

That is, it’s still necessary, apparently.

“We, together with the government, are now discussing with the presidential administration how to make sure that the government really needs the academy!” — said the rector. “I have great respect for science, but I want it to bring maximum benefit to the country!”

Yes, in order to develop, you need to set yourself not only difficult, but also insoluble tasks.

“If I may, one short sentence,” the rector clearly had something very tasty in store for dessert. “We are discussing the possibility of reviving the traditions of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum in St. Petersburg.” You, of course, know about the uniqueness of this lyceum, about its history, and it seems to us that it would be very cool to revive this lyceum!

— Revive it as an educational institution? — the president was surprised, without looking up from looking at the album.

– Just like an educational institution! – exclaimed the rector. – Yes, in order to prepare young people from a young age for public service, educate them in the spirit of patriotism and give the best education!

Then, in the presidential elections, graduates will compete among themselves, and not just with Gennady Zyuganov.

— Do you want to do it right in these squares? There’s a museum there! — Mr. Putin was surprised.

Sirius, for example, was created a little differently.

“We are considering different options,” admitted Alexey Komissarov. “There are areas that can be used… Partially historical, partially new…

It sounded vague. It was still a little scary.

“We are not asking for any funding now,” the rector reassured as best he could, “we will look for funds and opportunities ourselves and will come to you with a ready-made project.”

He, of course, knew how to calm Vladimir Putin.

– But, of course, we need your support, because if we create such a lyceum, then it should be the lyceum of the President of the Russian Federation.

– Fine. “Come on,” Vladimir Putin suddenly agreed.

Because, as it turned out, this is a royal matter.

Andrey Kolesnikov