The National Academy of Sciences is not a heavy and unnecessary Soviet legacy, but a unique domestic phenomenon with history and traditions

Abstract

The article is a kind of reaction to the recent Proposals of the Scientific Committee of the National Council for the Development of Science and Technology under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding the reform of the domestic scientific and educational sphere. The main emphasis is placed on the idea that any changes to it are impossible without the active participation of scientists of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, which, in turn, must do everything in its power to lead the process of such reform with respect not only to the entire system of science and education, but also to itself. At the same time, efforts should be aimed at filling the reforms with concrete content, the necessary sequence of steps and connections with the development of economic, social and other problems important for the country. Conversely, ignoring the role and capabilities of the NAS of Ukraine is considered by the author (following the Napoleonic era politician A. Boulay de la Meurthe) an action "worse than a crime" and called a strategic mistake.