Russia fires 4 officials who got Academy of Sciences seats
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attends the anniversary game of international club comic and TV game show "KVN", in the Kremlin, celebrating the 55th anniversary of the airing in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016. The KVN show is a humourous public talent competition for teams of mostly student competitors, which has been shown on national TV since 1961. (Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired four senior officials who ran for seats on the Russian Academy of Sciences despite his previous orders.
In a televised meeting last week, Putin indignantly complained that some government officials were elected members of the Russian Academy of Sciences despite his explicit orders not to do so.
The Kremlin on Monday published an order signed by Putin to dismiss four officials including a deputy interior minister and a department chief at the defense ministry. Three of them were listed as having tendered their resignations and one was listed as having reached pension age.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Russia's scientific community has been criticized for giving an easy ride to officials seeking doctoral degrees and scientific titles as a badge of prestige.