Russia's venerable Academy of Sciences could soon come under tighter governmental control, if legislative changes made by the Cabinet last week are ratified by parliament. On September 8, the Cabinet approved revisions to Russia's Law on Science that would give the national president final say over who is chosen to lead the Academy. The move comes as the Academy's 70-year-old president, Yury Osipov, is poised to step down. "Under the new amendments, the elected president of the Academy is approved by the president, while the [academy] Charter is to be approved by the government," Osipov was quoted as saying by the ITAR-TASS news service.The Cabinet's move will make the 282-year-old institution a "state academy." There had been media suggestions that its name would officially change to the State Academy of Science, but Osipov denied those rumors in an interview with ITAR-TASS on Tuesday.The academy has been in existence since 1724,...

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