Siberian Branch, the First Regional Division of the Academy of Sciences.
The scientific and educational potential of Russia, and later of the USSR, was traditionally concentrated in the two capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg. The first "points of science growth" in Siberia and the Far East were universities founded in Tomsk (1880), Irkutsk (1918) and Vladivostok (1920). Later, in the 30-40-ies single stations and small affiliated branches of the Academy of Sciences were set up in Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok and Yakutsk.

Late in the 50-ies, when the government of the USSR embarked upon accelerated development of natural resources and productive forces of Siberia, the necessity of thorough investigation of arising problems, which meant cardinal enhancement of the research potential of this region, became evident.
Professors M.A. Lavrentiev, S.L. Sobolev and S.A. Khristianovich, outstanding scientists and members of the Academy of Sciences, suggested that a number of large science centres should be founded in the eastern part of the country. The government supported this suggestion.
On May 18, 1957, the resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers was adopted, which stated that the basic goal of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences is “intensified development of theoretical and experimental studies in physical, engineering and natural sciences, and economics to solve the major scientific problems and to promote build up of productive forces of Siberia and the Far East." (The Far East Branch of the Academy of Sciences had been part of the Siberian Branch till 1970).
It was a revolutionary and unprecedented decision of the Soviet government. Just twelve years after the end of the most destructive of all wars, the World War II, the government managed to allocate considerable funds for setting up institutes and science centres in Siberia and providing them with necessary facilities.
The project was ranked among the other major national scale projects such as space exploration, development of oil and gas fields in Western Siberia, etc., and was completed ahead of schedule (the first stage of construction of the Novosibirsk Science Centre had been finished by 1964). Thus, the decentralisation of Soviet science began and territorial development was given an impetus. The Siberian Branch was the first regional division of the Academy of Sciences.

Of key importance for building Siberian scientific schools was the decision of several dozens of leading scientists from key institutes of Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev to move to Siberia together with their postgraduate students, promising young researchers.
The basic principles underlying the organisation of science in Siberia are:

• comprehensive character (multidisciplinarity) of science centres;
• outstripping development of priority trends of fundamental sciences;
• integration of science and education: wide involvement of staff and facilities of academic institutes in training; selection, training and reproduction of high-skilled personnel for research institutes, higher schools and industry of Siberia;
• active introduction of scientific results into industry, first of all, in Siberia; versatile contacts with industry.

Advanced principles, government promotion, enthusiasm and devotion to science of scientists of older generation, as well as of young people, made it possible to create a powerful science centre in the eastern part of the country over a comparatively short period of time.

At present, the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a developed regionally distributed system of multidisciplinary science centres, institutes and research stations embracing almost the entire Siberia. The science centres of the SB RAS are located in Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Yakutsk, Kemerovo, Tyumen and Omsk. There are also single institutes in Barnaul, Kyzyl and Chita.
After the restructuring of scientific institutions in Russia in 1998, the SB RAS comprises 59 research and design-and-technology institutes, whose areas of study cover physics and mathematics, engineering, life sciences, Earth sciences, humanities and economics. Eleven of these institutes are united, i.e. consisting of several associated institutes that run studies in allied fields and use common facilities.
By the end of 1998, the total number of employment of the SB RAS made up about 36 thousand persons, among them 75% work in research institutes and 25% are engaged in services maintaining research activities of institutes and infrastructure of science towns. Among researchers, there are 1.5 thousand of doctors of sciences (professor’s level) and 5 thousand of candidates of sciences (PhD level). One hundred thirty members of the Russian Academy of Sciences work at the Siberian Branch of the RAS.

An integral part of the SB RAS is a network of geosphere and biosphere stations, including seismic, permafrost, gelio- and cosmophysical ones, often equipped with unique installations on a level with the highest national or world standards. They are dispersed about the area that makes up over 50% of the Russian territory and represent an important part of the international system of stations performing long-term observations and contributing data to world databases.

Formation of the world-level scientific schools may be considered as the most significant achievement of the SB RAS. Almost every year SB RAS scientists are awarded prestigious national and Government prizes, non-government prizes, such as the Russian Academy of Sciences award, as well as prizes of governments of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Republic of Buryatia. A number of scientists of the SB RAS are winners of international scientific prizes (among them Prof. L.V. Kantorovich, a Nobel Prizewinner), members of foreign academies and international scientific societies. Some of them were elected to occupy leading posts in the societies. Thus, the posts of Vice-Presidents and Presidents were occupied by Prof. M.A. Lavrentiev (International Mathematical Association), Prof. B.S. Sokolov (International Palaeontological Association), Prof. V.S. Sobolev and Prof. N.V. Sobolev (International Mineralogical Association), Prof. D.K. Beliayev (International Genetic Association), Prof. V.A. Koptyug and Prof. K.I. Zamaraev (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry), Prof. V.V. Boldyrev (International Mechanochemical Association), etc. The intellectual environment created by the Siberian Branch strongly influenced the state of culture and science in large regions of Russia, such as Siberia, Urals, and the Far East. Within a short period of time scientific schools were also founded in the republics of Central Asia of the USSR.

The experience of integration of science and education, gained by the Siberian Branch of the RAS and Novosibirsk State University, spread to other academic science centres. This experience was drawn when establishing close relations with already existing universities in Irkutsk, Tomsk, Yakutsk and setting new universities in Krasnoyarsk, Barnaul, Kemerovo, Tyumen, Omsk and Ulan-Ude. Fruitful co-operation is established with other Siberian higher schools, in particular, with technical universities in Novosibirsk, Tomsk, and Irkutsk. Association of the science centres of the SB RAS with universities and higher education establishments resulted in founding the so-called Regional Scientific-and-Educational Complexes in Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, and Kemerovo.
Using the experience of the Siberian Branch, two other regional academic branches, the Siberian Branches of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, were founded. The three branches maintain close contacts and conduct joint research. The principles, laid by the founders of the Siberian Branch, are helpful in withstanding the hard times of the perestroika and the system crisis in Russia and adapting to new market conditions. Thus, a high level and multidisciplinary character of basic research allow the research institutes to be successful as competitors for obtaining grants from national and foreign foundations. In addition, a large stock of completed developments in the field of advanced techniques and technology ensures making contracts with leading foreign and international companies and developing technoparks.

Owing to the existing system of professional development for scientists, the number of candidates of sciences (PhD level) remained stable, while the number of doctors of sciences (professor level) even increased, although the total employment of research staff during the crisis decreased considerably. Design departments and pilot plants, established to finish research developments and further introduce them into industry, served as a basis for creating new types of high-technology industrial enterprises and attracting investments.
Regional studies and active efforts within the framework of the Research-and-Development Programme “Siberia” are renewed in joint activities with the local authorities of Siberian regions and the Interregional Association “Siberian Accord”.
Siberian scientists are deeply involved in traditional forms of the international scientific co-operation: they organise and attend international conferences, take part in scientific exchange, work on joint projects supported by international grants, etc.

Moreover, international research centres, which function as open institutes or laboratories, have been set up on the basis of the SB RAS institutes holding world standards in their branches of knowledge. These centres attract foreign scientists by the relatively low research expenses for experiments using expensive equipment or unique natural objects, by flexible centres’ structure and direct character of co-operation, as well as by a possibility to become a co-founder or a member of the research council of the centre. For Russian researchers, this type of co-operation creates conditions for attracting the best Western "brains" to Siberia, ensures some additional funding and an access to the up-to-date equipment, enables support and training of young researchers. Reorganisation of international research centres into research-and-education centres is under way, and the experience of founding UNESCO chairs in some regions of the world is being used for this purpose.

The Siberian Branch of the RAS strives to broaden international co-operation at different levels, from government and international associations to organisations of foreign countries. Such intentions have been recorded in the agreements and memorandums signed with the European Community, International Association INTAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences and single provinces of China, with universities and higher schools of Germany, USA, Japan, with academies of sciences of Republic of Korea, Belorussia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and others.

Promotion of Siberian science towns is in line with the world tendencies of science evolution at the end of the XX century. It is no mere chance that Novosibirsk Akademgorodok became a prototype for a number of science centres founded later in other countries. Interdisciplinarity of science towns conforms to a new paradigm suggesting multidisciplinary approach to the solution of global ecological, energy, technological and other urgent problems faced by the mankind on the threshold of the XXI century.