Arnold Kirillovich Tulokhonov: biography. Arnold Tulokhonov left the Federation Council: “I’m not Obama, I can’t give a farewell speech - They don’t have scientific publications at all

2016 has been declared decisive in the implementation of reforms in Russian science. However, most academicians assess the results of the reform as unsatisfactory. What is the reason for such a harsh assessment,Arnold Tulokhonov , member of the Federation Council, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, asked, presenter of the “Hamburg Account” program on the Public Television of Russia.

born in 1949 in the village of Zakuley, Irkutsk region. In 1971 he graduated from the Faculty of Geography of Irkutsk State University. He began working as a junior researcher at the Chita branch of the All-Union Research and Design Institute of the Gold-Platinum, Diamond and Tungsten-Molybdenum Industry. In 1976 he defended his PhD thesis at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 1988, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Geographical Sciences. In 1988, Arnold Tulokhonov was appointed deputy chairman of the presidium of the scientific center of the Siberian branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In the same year, he organized the Baikal Department of Environmental Management Problems, which, on his initiative, in 1991 was transformed into the Baikal Institute for Rational Environmental Management of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2003, he was elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Since 2013, member of the Federation Council from the executive body of state power of the Republic of Buryatia.

— Arnold Kirillovich, you have already gone down in the history of the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences, since you were the only member of the Federation Council who publicly opposed the law on the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the form in which it was proposed. Tell us what made you react so sharply to these changes.

— I am still the only member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the Federation Council. And, probably, better than others, I understand what follows the reforms that are taking place today. Therefore, deep knowledge of this issue allowed me not just to vote against, but to speak out and explain why this should not be done. But, unfortunately, this success was temporary.

— We have few members of the Academy among the members of the Federation Council...

— That’s probably not the question. The question is that in our country today science is treated as a second-class category. Unfortunately it is so.

— The results of the next stage of the reform of Russian science are now being summed up. What would you note as the main results, the most important events? Where have we come to now?

— First of all, we excited society. Maybe even the state. This is the main result. If we talk about the details... We got results that are exactly the opposite of what this reform wanted. In general, I am a deep pessimist by nature. And now I see that today there is no body in the state that is responsible for the development of the Academy of Sciences. FANO is responsible for the property, the money is in the Russian Science Foundation, and the Ministry of Education and Science is responsible for university science. And if you ask what the state of academic science is now, we have no one to answer easily. We see that the bureaucracy has grown. 40% of young researchers at the Siberian Branch, according to sociological surveys, are ready to go abroad. The entire Academy of Sciences has aged three years. Today, as a result of the merger of the three academies, academicians have appeared who do not have publications.

— Do they have no scientific publications at all?

- Yes. First of all, we are talking about the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Is this what we wanted? Probably not. Therefore, I pose the question again. Before it's too late, let's return to the results of this reform. Unfortunately, housing and communal services reform, police reform, education reform, health care reform received exactly the same results. I cannot explain today why this is so, but the government, naturally, the Academy of Sciences and the Federal Assembly should probably think about this first of all. I recently spoke on this topic at a plenary meeting of the Federation Council.

— You wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin. And they sent the same letter to Valentina Matvienko, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Sergei Evgenievich Naryshkin. This letter talks about the destruction of science in Siberia. What exactly do you mean by this? What processes cause you such anxiety?

— There are two specific examples. The first is that since April 1, 11 specialized institutes have disappeared in the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center: the Institute of Forests and Timbers, the Academician Kerensky Institute (this is a world institute), the Institute of Chemistry and Technology, the Institute of Biophysics, which develops closed space biological systems... They are combined with medical institutes direction and agricultural profile. I think that this is already a certain lower limit that can be achieved in the process of these reforms.

And second: FANO gathered 15 directors of academic institutes of the Irkutsk region for the purpose of unification. And there is exactly the same situation - the Institute of Animal Husbandry, the Institute of Traumatology are merging with the Institute of Geography, the Institute of Geology and other academic institutes.

I think that even in a sick imagination it is difficult to imagine something like this, but today, unfortunately, this is happening. And naturally, as a member of the Federation Council, as a member of the Academy of Sciences, I openly expressed my indignation and asked our state leaders to intervene, because Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, in his address to the Federal Assembly, said: Russia’s national priority in the 21st century is the accelerated development of the eastern regions. But how can the eastern regions be developed without the development of academic science?

You just need to remember history. When we had crises of the civil war, Lenin invited Krzhizhanovsky and asked to develop a GOELRO plan, which was implemented in 10 years. Then we no longer talk about the atomic project or space successes. We are talking about the fact that in 1957, when the task of developing the natural resources of Siberia again arose, the not very literate Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev created the Novosibirsk Academic Town in the remote taiga and created the system of the Siberian Branch. And as a result, the largest oil and gas fields appeared in Western Siberia, the world’s most powerful collider using colliding beams was built in Novosibirsk, and a scientific justification for the Baikal-Amur Mainline was completed. This is the contribution of academic science to solving eastern problems.

Unlike the recent past, we no longer have the Gulag, there is no Komsomol, patriotism remains only in slogans. Today, when we have Western sanctions, when our opponents have again taken up arms against us, only the Academy of Sciences, only science can show ways out of these crisis situations. I think that the moment has come when it is necessary to give scientists a state order, to tell them what to do next. Instead, we solve the opposite problem.

— The head of the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations, Mikhail Kotyukov, visited us in this studio. And when asked about the unification and reorganization of institutions, he replied that they occur on a voluntary basis. Do you remember that there was such a formulation in the Soviet years - “at the request of the workers”?

- Absolutely right. There is another side. There, behind the scenes, the question remains: if you don’t unite, we will lay you off. Naturally, people understand that there is no other job, because a scientist is a scientist. He can't work at a machine. Therefore, many voluntarily and forcibly go for it. But I, as a person who is in control of the situation, working within these teams, can frankly say that not a single team in the established scientific divisions of the structure will voluntarily agree to this.

— In addition to the fact that you are a member of the Federation Council and the Russian Academy of Sciences, you are the scientific director of the Baikal Institute of Environmental Management. Please tell me how the science reform affected your institute. How did you and your colleagues feel?

— There are two points that are hidden. First: directors of institutes are forced, according to the May decrees of the president, to raise salaries twice as high as the regional one. At the same time, the budget component is reduced by 10%. That is, the director of the institute must “get” the money and fulfill this indicator, which allows the institute to exist.

- So what’s going on?

— A minority of institutions generate money, and a lot of it. And the director of the institute redistributes them within the institute so that this “curve” goes up. Two questions arise: why should the director increase salaries when the budget is reduced? Second: within the team there appears a group of, so to speak, “freeloaders” who, without working, begin to receive this salary. Moreover, quarrels and squabbles begin within the team. This is exactly the same as it was in health care reform, when some doctors receive money, others do not. And the team begins to break this system of unequal relations. And in general, it seems like a good idea. But then give us a decent salary, and we will determine it according to the criteria that are established. But if the state does not provide salaries, then I, the director of the institute, must, instead of buying an instrument, look for money for the salary. Therefore, these two points are fundamentally important. And they are not visible from the outside.

— The General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences took place not long ago. And at this meeting there were very harsh speeches and very harsh assessments of the results of the reform of Russian science. And many speakers referred to the speech of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, to his formula that as a result of the reform, it should not be the Academy for FANO, but FANO for the Academy. And therefore, there were proposals to make FANO the management of affairs within the Russian Academy, to make it, as it were, a department within, that is, to actually reverse the reform. Do you think the Academy has enough strength to lobby for the actual return of the law?

“I think that the Academy does not have enough of these forces.” I can see this frankly. But I think both sides are wrong. The question is on a completely different plane. The Academy of Sciences is not needed by FANO. The state needs the Academy of Sciences in order to get out of this crisis today. This is the main motive that today we are trying to “break through” in all government bodies. But, unfortunately, they don’t understand this. And why? Because our state today does not see long-term politics. The state does not have such an order as a nuclear project, a space project, BAM, or the development of the Arctic. Today this order is not available. Therefore, when there is no order, the Academy of Sciences also begins to solve its own private problems. And this point must be emphasized today. The state stands at a very dangerous line. I repeat once again: without the Academy of Sciences, without academic research, especially foreign geopolitics, we have no way out. And this is the main point today.

— Arnold Kirillovich, when you try to discuss this with your colleagues in the Federation Council who are not associated with science, do you see support from them? Do you manage to convey this somehow? Or is this your, so to speak, personal pain?

- No. I think most people understand. And when I voted against the age limit law, I was supported by a significant number of my senators who see that science today should be different, it should be in demand. I am a member of the International Relations Committee, and today I am very concerned about what is happening here in the east of the country. We understand that the western borders are closed to us. But we have three states in the east: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, which we hardly talk about. 7000 km border with Kazakhstan. What will happen if Nazarbayev leaves, what policy will there be? This should concern us. The border with Mongolia is 3000 km, with China - 4000 km. Today, the main wealth there is people. There are about 20 million people left. Do you understand how small this is for the whole country? We need to preserve them.

— People are leaving Southern Siberia and the eastern territories...

— The entire Siberian Federal District and the Far Eastern Federal District are in a negative population balance.

— Why do people leave?

“Because they don’t see the prospects, they don’t see the attention.” I think that the desire to give everyone a hectare of land is a mockery of people. When Stolypin was exploring Siberia and the Far Eastern borders, he said something completely different: here’s money for you, here’s guns for you, here’s land for you, here’s forest for you. But the most important thing that the governor must say is that we, the state, provide you with sales. Nearby China, Korea. You work, produce, pray to God, just don’t drink vodka, and we will provide you with sales. Producing is not a problem. The most important thing is sales. But on our distant borders there are no people, there is no point of sale.

- Fine. You say that people are leaving Siberia. Could you give some specific examples related specifically to science, to young scientists? What happens, for example, at your institute with young people? What dynamics do you see? Why do people leave?

— People go into business, go where the money is. And now education is no longer important. Because b O Most of them have already left. Why has the departure curve decreased? Because the right people, rich in knowledge, left. And today the rest are leaving. There are specific examples.

The Institute of Nuclear Physics is the largest institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with about three thousand employees. During the years of these reforms, 300 people left. You can imagine - from one institute. Moreover, Novosibirsk University has alumni associations - there are about three thousand people in them who work abroad.

— Yes, the Novosibirsk diaspora.

- Yes. It consists of graduates. But why did we prepare these graduates? They invested a lot of money and a lot of knowledge. Where are the results? And today we are faced with a fact: the departure of every graduate of Physics and Technology, Moscow State University, and St. Petersburg University is an economic disaster for the country.

— Let’s then determine what can be changed in the field of public policy in relation to science. How to fix the current situation?

— The main condition for the development of science and the benefits of science is its independence. It makes no sense to evaluate such a target indicator as salary. If an institute receives a large salary, this does not mean that it is effective. We are going the wrong way. We always argue that there is nuclear physics, mathematics, fundamental sciences. But we must understand that for such a huge country as Russia, there is another science - spatial economics. And today, more than ever, we must worry about ensuring that the expanses of Siberia and the Far East are developed in a cluster, in the interests of the state.

For this it is important to preserve the Academy. But what is the Academy of Sciences in Kyzyl, Barnaul, Chita? This is the only intellectual core. If we destroy it, then the higher education system will collapse at the same time, because all scientists teach. After higher education, the secondary education system will collapse. And today children are already leaving the region in thousands to the central city, from the central city to Moscow and further abroad. And thanks to the Unified State Exam, this conveyor works like a clock. And today their parents are coming for them. We will end up with an intellectual desert. I openly told our minister about this.

— So, what can be done legislatively to prevent this from happening? That is, the law on the Russian Academy of Sciences should affirm its independence and autonomy, decision-making? Do I understand you correctly?

— The law on science was adopted today, and it must be observed. But why is FANO needed? Property - for God's sake, let's use it rationally, we don't mind. But please don’t define scientific policy. Because science policy should be determined by scientists. Faraday did not receive his discoveries by government order. This is the fruit of the intellectual thinking of an individual, and a talented one at that. And talents, as a rule, are, firstly, rare, and secondly, they have a very bad character, and they do not always fit into the system of social relations.

— So you talked about state orders, about the fact that it is necessary for the state to set tasks. Nuclear project, GOELRO and so on?

— There are several levels. The task, for example, of the institute in Tuva is one. He doesn't have to think about nuclear physics. He is thinking about how to help the region overcome today's economic crisis. Next we talk about the Siberian department, which should work out a strategy for the development of Siberia. Because when I see the federal program “Far East,” I openly tell Mr. Trutnev, the presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, that this is not a program. This is a set of individual measures for the construction of plants and factories, in which there is no state interest, but the interests of individual governors. Today we need a new State Planning Committee, which solves not regional problems, but the problems of Russia in today's conditions.

Naturally, it’s the same with fundamental science. Government orders can be divided into applied science and fundamental science. Fundamental science is a completely special thing. Here there may or may not be a government order. But today we must think that the world is on the eve of new technological breakthroughs, where there will be new additive technologies, there will be artificial materials and, perhaps, we will already move away from the resource economy. Without science we will never do this. We see that our very famous scientists, three Nobel Prize laureates, are working abroad. The Russians have received four Fields Awards and many other physics awards. Konstantin Batygin, working in the States, discovered a new planet. They all left here with our education. And if we do not preserve them here today, then Russia has very weak prospects.

- Fine. Besides autonomy and defining a scientific strategy for the Academy, what else do you think needs to be done?

— Naturally, financing. Putin wrote a figure in his May decrees: 1.77% of GDP for fundamental science. Throughout the world, developed countries do not have less than 2%. And keep in mind that they all have different GDPs. But today in the budget we wrote 0.3%. Can you imagine? The decrees say 1.77%, we get 0.3%. And with this funding we will never become world leaders. But I'm talking about something else now. During the discussion of the budget in our Federation Council, I told Mr. Siluanov, the Minister of Finance, that we do not have a “science” line in the Russian budget. If you look carefully, there is housing and communal services, there is education, there is medicine. There is no “science” line. I say: dear minister, why is there no “science” line? He hesitated somewhat and said: money for science should be provided by the oligarchic community. “I,” I say, “have never seen such oligarchs today.” And we parted ways on this. And after that we got this result.

— At the general meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences there was a speech by Boris Kashin, a deputy of the State Duma. He said: how can we expect an adequate reform of science with such a system of governing the country, close to the 1870s, when decisions are made virtually individually, and why do we think that the reform of Russian science should be something special, in contrast to other reforms that are adopted in the same way? He pointed to a managerial crisis. Question: what levers do you see here, how can this be changed?

- It is impossible to change yourself. I, a member of the Academy, roughly speaking, am not afraid for my work. The rest are afraid for their jobs, for their future. This fear has been present since the times of Stalin. And today, oddly enough, this fear is intensifying. Further, reforms really come in different forms. But why do we always look to the West? Look at China. China has taken the structure of the Russian Academy of Sciences one-on-one. Today there is the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there is the Engineering Academy of Sciences, there is the Academy of Social Sciences, which in terms of funds is much larger than the Academy of Sciences itself, there is the Academy of Agricultural Sciences. There, the head of the laboratory has a company car. I personally know some Chinese scientists. They have no such concept of asking for money. They write an application - and after a month and a half, everything they need arrives. Today, my colleagues in China can buy an apartment and a car when they retire. For your pension! Their social problems have been solved, and the scientist in China is socially protected. China's successes are the successes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They have a diaspora abroad that can come at any time under these conditions. She goes there only to study, then returns. But here, if smart people leave, they probably leave forever.

- Then I have a final question for you. Please tell me, if the Academy is reformed separately outside the general strategy of science in the state, then, of course, a lot of disagreements will arise. What science strategy does Russia need? Without an answer to this question, it is impossible to reform the Russian Academy of Sciences or individual universities - Do you agree?

- Absolutely right. Science must be in demand in society. This is the cornerstone. I can't talk about too big lofty matters. I'll just give you one sentence. Some say that in such difficult times we cannot afford to invest in science, that supporting scientific research is still a luxury in those moments when everything is determined by necessity. I strongly disagree. Our prosperity, safety, health, ecology and quality of life depend now more than ever on science. And it is today that reminds us that we must rely on science. This, unfortunately, was what Barack Obama said two months after his inauguration. And one on one, I think, we must translate this phrase, this situation, into today’s Russia.

The one who didn't shoot?

Arnold Kirillovich Tulokhonov overnight became the darling of the academic public, refusing - the only senator - to vote for the law on the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Indeed, in modern times it was a courageous act, quite worthy of going down in history, so the first question of the published interview is about this. But then the details begin...

A negative attitude towards the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences united a variety of people. And if the minority pointed out that reform was necessary, but was being carried out using unsuitable methods, the majority asked to simply lag behind and leave everything as it was. Preferably, as it was under Soviet rule. Arnold Kirillovich is such a prominent representative of this point of view that even in the repeatedly edited interview there were interesting passages like, say, this: “Unlike the recent past, we no longer have the Gulag, there is no Komsomol, patriotism remains only in slogans. Today, when we have Western sanctions, when our opponents have again taken up arms against us, only the Academy of Sciences, only science can show ways out of these crisis situations.” I don’t want to interpret this passage as a call for the revival of science by returning the Gulag, but the semantic sequence itself - Gulag, Komsomol, patriotism, Academy of Sciences - makes me shudder. Or here's another thing about scientific justification of the Baikal-Amur Mainline,- I really want to ask a specialist spatial economics: and is it okay that BAM never paid off, and significantly undermined its resources?

But the main thing is not even these reservations and not the fantastic ideas of the corresponding member and director of the institute about the surrounding reality (the Fields Prize is a physical one, and for Chinese scientists “There is no such thing as asking for money. They write an application - and after a month and a half, everything they need comes.”). The mantra that is repeated all the time is essential: “We need a new State Planning Committee today,”- and further: “I think that the moment has come when we need to give scientists a state order, tell them what to do next.”, because “When there is no order, the Academy of Sciences also begins to solve its own private problems.” This is really very bad. Because attempts to tie science to the immediate needs of not very understanding bosses are not only naive (so they believed - and even then, there is reason not to believe, because many such academic promises ended in nothing), but also strategically dangerous (what if, after all, will see distant policy). And then everyone will be able to say goodbye to their favorite private tasks and happily switch to... here is the senator’s answer: “We argue all the time that there is nuclear physics, mathematics, fundamental sciences. But we must understand that for such a huge country as Russia, there is another science - spatial economics.". Well, or at worst nuclear project, space project, BAM, Arctic development.

To be fair, directly opposite passages immediately follow: “The main condition for the development of science and the benefits of science is its independence,” “Faraday did not receive his discoveries by government order.” I don’t understand how this fits into one’s head.

The split in the scientific community between supporters of transparent, independent fundamental science included in the international context and fans of the State Planning Committee and state orders has not gone away; the joint rejection of the ongoing reform only slightly obscured it. One may dislike the modern Russian government both because it is too reminiscent of the Soviet Union and because it does not reproduce it enough. How long will this water truce last and to what extent can one count on a situational alliance with the restorers of the Union in the fight against the most odious reform plans - I do not have a ready answer. I'm afraid not at all.

Mikhail Gelfand

"Biography"

Education

1971 - Irkutsk State University named after A.A. Zhdanov (geographer-geomorphologist)

Activity

"News"

Arnold Tulokhonov's resignation from the post of senator is a foregone conclusion

Moscow demands resignation of active senator of Buryatia

From knowledgeable sources of “Baikal-Daily” in the government of Buryatia it became known about the imminent resignation of the senator from the republic Arnold Tulokhonov.

According to our sources, the initiative for the “voluntary” resignation of the famous academician and senator comes entirely from Moscow. Therefore, this situation caused great surprise among local political players.

Will Arnold Tulokhonov lose his senatorial seat?

Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting of the Presidential Council on Science and Education, threatened to fire officials who became academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The head of state said that the ban on election to academicians and corresponding members also applies to governors, Vesti.ru reports.

Senator Arnold Tulokhonov entered the TOP 20 ranking of members of the Federation Council

The representative of Buryatia in the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, Arnold Tulokhonov, ranks 11th in the ranking of senators for November. The rating was prepared by the Medialogy company, Tulokhonov became a “newbie”. He was helped in this by a possible ban on simultaneously engaging in scientific and government activities, as Vladimir Putin spoke about earlier.

Inform Polis: Deputy Arnold Tulokhonov gave a press conference

This event was organized by the Permanent Delegation of Russia to UNESCO and the Foundation for the Preservation of Lake Baikal (FSSOB) with the support of the government of the Republic of Buryatia, the Russian Geographical Society, the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, the Prince Albert II Foundation of Monaco - said Tulokhonov. He also said that before the start of the conference Greetings were read out from the elected President of Russia Putin, the President of Mongolia Elbegdorj and the President of the Republic of Buryatia Nagovitsyn. Vladimir Putin's address emphasized the special role of environmental initiatives in the study and protection of the unique reservoir.

Arnold Tulokhonov was left alone

The only member of the committee who voted against it was Buryat Senator Arnold Tulokhonov. According to Taiga.info, Arnold Tulokhonov, at a meeting of the relevant committee, reasonably criticized the bill on the Russian Academy of Sciences, calling it “very crude,” and asked to return the document for revision. “My honor and conscience do not allow me to support him,” the senator admitted. According to Tulokhonov’s forecasts, the Federation Council will approve the law on September 25, and “there is no chance” that the president will veto it.

“There is no chance that Putin will veto”

- No. I just spoke and told my point of view. I wrote a five-page analysis of this bill, where I criticized the document. It remains unclear one of the main questions - how can science be developed in Russia if it has no property? Equally, there is not a single article in the bill that really asserted the priority of Russian science, the need for its development as the main condition for modernizing the economy and for our country to become a world leader.

Arnold Tulokhonov: “This brings joy to us and benefits to the state”

- Yes, there are a lot of them. We have obtained fundamental scientific results. For example, at several levels at a depth of 200-800 m, I discovered ancient lake beaches. But pebbles cannot form at the bottom. This discovery has no analogues and turns geology upside down. It turns out that Baikal was once 800 meters lower and was filled four times after the melting of the glaciers. This result has no practical significance, but opens a new page in the history of Lake Baikal.

The richest people should live on the richest land

Those who are familiar with Baikal through the media will no doubt think about the “Worlds” dives and, of course, about the BPPM problem. However, environmental issues do not exhaust the range of problems relating to the Baikal territory, to which, first of all, such large territorial entities as the Irkutsk region, Trans-Baikal Territory, and the Republic of Buryatia belong. COPAH.info talks about important priorities, tasks and goals for this region with a person whose extensive list of interests includes everything related to the development of lands adjacent to Lake Baikal - Director of the Baikal Institute of Natural Resources SB RAS, Corresponding Member of the RAS Arnold Kirillovich Tulokhonov.

Senator from the Republic of Belarus Arnold Tulokhonov became the only one in the Federation Council Committee on Science who voted against the law on the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences

I asked my colleagues on the Committee on Science, Education, Culture and Information Technologies to return this bill for revision to the conciliation commission, where I was ready to take an active part.

The head of Buryatia vested Arnold Tulokhonov with the powers of a senator

I think that Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn will find a worthy replacement. And this will most likely be a deputy of the People’s Khural, and the candidacy will be decided in the next two or three days. “I can be excluded from the list of candidates immediately, since I am not a deputy of the People’s Khural, or even the City Council,” Gennady Aidaev emphasized then. Let us recall that a vacant seat in the Federation Council appeared after Senator Vitaly Malkin wrote a letter of resignation from the post of senator . Malkin explained his departure from the Federation Council by the “dirty campaign” launched against him from abroad. At the same time, he said that he did not want to “dirty” the Council by doing so.

Federation.

Arnold Tulokhonov: I will not remain silent!

— In my first speech, I noted that the republican budget adopted today is no different from the same one twenty years ago. There is no thought in it. There is no concept of how to make money and how to spend it rationally. In addition, take the Russian budget - it is socially protected, not a single social item has been cut. We have reduced everything. Even agriculture was reduced threefold. And there is practically nothing about science at all. There are two articles on applied science. For its development, the government, they say, is developing a concept, territorial planning, design and construction. Moreover, it does all this almost simultaneously, although such work requires a lot of time. And here they want to do everything in one year. The Italians won the concept.

Arnold Tulokhonov: the main problem of Baikal is the lack of culture of the population

— Previously, there was no such profession as an ecologist, so I studied geography and graduated from the Faculty of Geography of Irkutsk State University with a degree in geographer. Geography is a very broad concept; it includes the study of social, natural and many other processes and phenomena. Twenty years ago, with my colleagues, I created an institute, and now it is one of the few academic institutes that deals with issues of sustainable development, or, more simply, understands how to solve modern environmental problems without harming future generations.

Tulokhonov suggested that Russian scientists emigrate in the event of a reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences

In the official message on the website of the Federation Council about the committee meeting, not a word was said about Arnold Tulokhonov’s speech in connection with the consideration of the RAS reform. The news reports that the chairman of the committee, Zinaida Dragunkina, noted the serious changes that the law underwent during its passage in the State Duma: “A lot of work was going on. The Duma moved from the third reading to the second, amendments were made, the document was significantly improved.”

Valentina Matvienko thanked the now former senator from Buryatia for 4 years of fruitful work

Today, the Federation Council prematurely terminated the powers of Buryat Senator Arnold Tulokhonov.

An application was received from Arnold Tulokhonov to resign early at his own request on January 9. The corresponding draft has been prepared, I ask you to support it,” read out the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Rules and Organization of Parliamentary Activities, Vadim Tyulpanov.

Members of the Federation Council made the decision by majority vote. Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko expressed gratitude to Arnold Tulokhonov.

Allow me to thank you on my own behalf. He was a very active, caring senator who quickly responded to problems and firmly defended the issues of Buryatia. He is a principled, persistent person; he managed to solve the issues raised. We are very grateful to him for his work,” said Valentina Matvienko.

The Chairman of the Federation Council presented Arnold Tulokhonov with a thank you note and hugged him.

After this, the former senator made a response.

I am grateful for four years that have passed in a blink. Of course, I’m not Obama, I can’t give a farewell speech. I'm not saying that we need to save Syria. We must save Siberia. I didn’t have time to do much, I hope I will still help you,” said Arnold Tulokhonov.
In turn, Valentina Matvienko invited Arnold Tulokhonov to continue working in the Federation Council as an expert.

I ask for your consent to join the commission of our expert council. So that they can help us solve problems,” Matvienko said and, having received a positive response, continued. - Amazing. We don't say goodbye. We will continue our joint cooperation.

Let us remind you about the upcoming resignation of Arnold Tulokhonov from the post of senator in the Federation Council from Buryatia “Baikal-Daily” in mid-December.

Before this, Tulokhonov was mentioned among the RAS academicians who were criticized by Vladimir Putin. The President promised to remove from government positions all those who combine service with academic activities as academicians. Shortly before this, Arnold Tulokhonov was just elected academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Deputies of the People's Khural spoke out in support of their ex-colleague (Arnold Tulokhonov became a senator from the republican parliament). And they turned to the head of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, and the head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation, Anton Vaino, with a statement that Arnold Kirillovich “does his job in the Federation Council with dignity and professionalism.”

As Baikal-Daily learned, with a candidacy for the post of senator in the Federation Council from Buryatia. This will be the Deputy of the People's Khural, General Director of the TV company "Arig Us" Tatyana Mantatova.

Thus, a new senator will legally appear in Buryatia in January. The documents for Tatyana Mantatova have already been sent to the apparatus of the Federation Council. She herself agreed to the appointment.

Reference:

Arnold Tulokhonov was born on September 3, 1949 in the village of Zakuley, Irkutsk region. Graduated from Irkutsk State University named after Zhdanov with a degree in geographer-geomorphologist. He began his career in the Chita branch of the All-Union Research and Design Institute of the Gold-Platinum, Diamond and Tungsten-Molybdenum Industry of the USSR Ministry of Non-ferrous Metallurgy.

On his initiative, in 1977, the Small Academy of Sciences was created in Ulan-Ude, which is still active today, and the Council of Young Scientists of the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was organized. In 1988, Arnold Tulokhonov was appointed deputy chairman of the presidium of the scientific center of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In the same year, he organized the Baikal Department of Environmental Management Problems under the Presidium of the Center, which in 1991 was transformed into the Baikal Institute of Rational Environmental Management SB RAS (now the Baikal Institute of Environmental Management SB RAS). Tulokhonov headed the institute from 1991 to 2013, when he left his post and took the senatorial seat.

He was sent to the Federation Council by the head of Buryatia, Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn, after the position of senator from the executive bodies of the republic was vacated ahead of schedule by Vitaly Malkin. This was preceded by a loud scandal with the “exposure” of Malkin by oppositionist Navalny, who announced the senator’s undeclared real estate abroad and Israeli citizenship. “Well, now should I say thank you to him (Navalny)?” - Arnold Tulokhonov commented on the situation. Already at his first press conference as a senator, one of which - “Buryatia is the face of Russia, not its ass” - became a popular story.

Arnold Tulokhonov was born on September 3, 1949 in the village of Zakuley, Nukutsky district, Ust-Orda Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Okrug. He grew up in an ordinary family. In 1966, after graduating from Nukutsk secondary school, he entered Irkutsk State University at the Faculty of Geography. In 1971, he graduated with honors with the qualification “geographer-geomorphologist” and was assigned to work at the Chita branch of the All-Union Research and Design Institute of the Gold-Platinum, Diamond and Tungsten-Molybdenum Industry of the USSR Ministry of Non-ferrous Metallurgy. He began his career as a junior researcher.

Over the course of three years, he completed a large volume of contractual work ordered by the Baleizoloto plant and put more than 10 placer gold deposits on the balance sheet with a total reserve of over 2 tons of metal. The results of these studies formed the basis of his candidate’s thesis “The main stages of the development of the relief of the Shilkino middle mountains and the assessment of placer gold content,” which he defended in 1976 at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

On his initiative, in 1977, the Small Academy of Sciences was created in Ulan-Ude, which is still active today, and the Council of Young Scientists of the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was organized. In 1988, Tulokhonov was appointed deputy chairman of the Presidium of the Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In the same year, he organized the Baikal Department of Environmental Management Problems under the Presidium of the Center, which, on his initiative, in 1991 was transformed into the Baikal Institute for Rational Environmental Management of the SB RAS. Nowadays this is the Baikal Institute of Environmental Management of the SB RAS - the only institute in the system of academic science where natural resource research is inextricably linked with the development of environmentally friendly technologies and the economics of environmental management.

In 1988, by the decision of the Higher Attestation Commission, Tulokhonov was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Geographical Sciences for his dissertation “The origin and evolution of the relief of inland mountains using the example of the Mongol-Siberian mountain belt.”

From 1991 to 2013, Arnold Kirillovich served as director of the Baikal Institute of Environmental Management SB RAS. In parallel, since 1992, he became an adviser to the President of the Republic of Buryatia and the Chairman of the People's Khural on environmental issues. Since 1996, he has been a member of the Academy of the Northern Forum in Finland and a member of the International Association of Academies of Sciences of the CIS. Since 1998 - full member of the Russian Ecological Academy.

From 2000 to 2004 he was a member of the editorial board of the journal Region: Sociology and Economics. Also, from 2000 to the present, he became a full member of the Academy of Mining Sciences, V.V. Putin’s confidant in the elections of the President of the Russian Federation. In 2001, he joined the Presidium of the Political Council of the Buryat regional branch of the Unity party, now United Russia. In 2002, by decision of the Higher Attestation Commission, Tulokhonov was awarded the academic title of professor. In 2003, he was elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In 2004, he became the initiator of the creation and chairman of the scientific council of the World of Baikal magazine. From 2005 to the present - member of the Academic Council of the Russian Geographical Society. From 2007 to 2013 he was a deputy of the People's Khural of the Republic of Buryatia. At the same time, from 2008 to 2010, he was a member of the coordinating council of Transbaikalia Development Corporation LLC, executive editor of the encyclopedic reference book Baikal: Nature and People, scientific organizer of the International Expedition “Worlds on Baikal” using deep-sea manned vehicles “Mir- 1" and "Mir-2", hydronaut "Baikal-2008". Since 2013, he has been a member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation from the executive body of state power of the Republic of Buryatia.

In 2016, on October 26, Arnold Kirillovich was elected academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is the author of more than 300 scientific works, including more than 20 monographs. Tulokhonov's scientific research is supported by grants from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Foundation. He is the head of integration projects of the SB RAS and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Tulokhonov was repeatedly awarded state scientific scholarships.

Tulokhonov’s range of research covers almost all areas of modern geographical science in relation to Baikal Asia: from seismicity to optimization of agricultural production in arid territories. His active scientific and organizational work is combined with the popularization of scientific knowledge. Arnold Kirillovich is the author of numerous articles in the media, textbooks and books. Since 2004, on his initiative, the popular science magazine “World of Baikal” has been published. For the school education system, edited by Tulokhonov, a series of wall educational environmental maps of the Republic of Buryatia was published.

Under his leadership, research has been conducted for more than twenty years on the restoration of traditional nomadic livestock farming in the cryoarid regions of North Asia. The practical implementation of these works was the creation of the first scientific and experimental farm in Russia, “Baikalecoproduct”, to preserve the gene pool of indigenous animals.

He is a laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Buryatia in the field of science, has gratitude and personalized watches from the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin and the Chairman of the State Duma B.V. Gryzlov, was awarded honorary signs of the Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR, the Central Committee of the Komsomol, the Ministry of Education of the USSR, the Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences. Awarded the Order of Honor “For many years of fruitful work and great contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation between peoples” and the medal “For the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline.” He has the honorary title “Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation.”

) - geoecologist and geographer, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2003), Director of the Baikal Institute of Nature Management SB RAS, Member of the Academic Council of the Russian Geographical Society, Member of the Presidium of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Deputy of the People's Khural of the Republic of Buryatia.

A.K. Tulokhonov: biographical information

Born into the family of a rural teacher. After graduating from Nukutsk secondary school in 1966, he entered Irkutsk State University at the Faculty of Geography.

In 1971 he graduated with honors from the university with the qualification “geographer-geomorphologist”. He was assigned to work at the Chita branch of the All-Union Research and Design Institute of the Gold-Platinum, Diamond and Tungsten-Molybdenum Industry of the Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR. He began his career as a junior researcher.

Over the course of three years, he completed a large volume of contractual work ordered by the Baleizoloto plant and put on balance more than 10 placer gold deposits with a total reserve of over 2 tons of metal. The results of these studies formed the basis of his Ph.D. thesis: “The main stages of the development of the relief of the Shilkinsky middle mountains and the assessment of placer gold content,” which he defended in 1976 at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the SB RAS.

On his initiative, in 1977 a Small Academy of Sciences was created in Ulan-Ude, which is still active today, and the Council of Young Scientists of the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was organized.

In 1988 he was appointed deputy chairman of the Presidium of the Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In the same year, the Baikal Department of Environmental Management Problems was organized under the Presidium of the Center, which, on his initiative, in 1991 was transformed into the Baikal Institute of Rational Environmental Management of the SB RAS. Nowadays this is the Baikal Institute of Environmental Management of the SB RAS - the only institute in the system of academic science where natural resource research is inextricably linked with the development of environmentally friendly technologies and the economics of environmental management. In 1988, by the decision of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia A.K. Tulokhonov was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Geographical Sciences for his dissertation “The origin and evolution of the relief of inland mountains (on the example of the Mongol-Siberian mountain belt).”

From 1991 to the present - Director of the Baikal Institute of Environmental Management of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

From 1992 to the present - Advisor to the President of the Republic of Buryatia and the Chairman of the People's Khural on environmental issues.

From 1996 to present - Member of the Northern Forum Academy (Finland). Member of the International Association of Academies of Sciences (IAAS) of the CIS.

1998 - full member of the Russian Ecological Academy.

2000 - 2004 - member of the editorial board of the magazine "Region: Sociology and Economics".

Since 2000 - full member of the Academy of Mining Sciences. Trustee V.V. Putin on the elections of the President of the Russian Federation.

Since 2001 - member of the Presidium of the Political Council of the Buryat regional branch of the Unity party (United Russia).

2002 - by decision of the Higher Attestation Commission, he was awarded the academic title of professor.

2003 - elected corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

2004 - initiator of the creation and chairman of the scientific council of the magazine “Mir”.

From 2005 to the present - member of the academic council of the Russian Geographical Society.

Since 2007 - Deputy of the People's Khural of the Republic of Buryatia.

2008 - 2010 - member of the coordination council of Transbaikalia Development Corporation LLC. Responsible editor of the encyclopedic reference book “Baikal: nature and people.” Scientific organizer of the International Expedition "Worlds" to "using deep-sea manned vehicles "Mir-1" and "Mir-2". Hydronaut "Baikal-2008".

Contribution to science

Author of more than 300 scientific papers, including more than 20 monographs. Scientific research by A.K. Tulokhonov were supported by grants from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Foundation. He is the head of integration projects of the SB RAS and the Russian Academy of Sciences. A.K. Tulokhonov was repeatedly awarded state scientific scholarships.

Spectrum of research by A.K. Tulokhonov covers almost all areas of modern geographical science in relation to Baikal Asia: from seismicity to optimization of agricultural production in arid territories. His active scientific and organizational work is combined with the popularization of scientific knowledge. A.K. Tulokhonov is the author of numerous articles in the media, textbooks and books. Since 2004, on his initiative, the popular science magazine “The World of Baikal” has been published. For the school education system, edited by A.K. Tulokhonov published a series of wall educational environmental maps of the Republic of Buryatia.

Under the leadership of A.K. Tulokhonov has been conducting research on the restoration of traditional nomadic livestock farming in the cryoarid regions of North Asia for more than twenty years. The practical implementation of these works was the creation of the first scientific and experimental farm in Russia, “Baikalecoproduct,” to preserve the gene pool of indigenous animals.

Awards and honorary titles

For achievements in scientific, scientific-organizational and social activities A.K. Tulokhonov was awarded the medal “For the Construction of BAM” (1985), awarded the honorary title “Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation” (1996), and awarded the Order of Honor (2000).

Laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Buryatia in the field of science (2003), has gratitude and a personalized watch from the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin and Chairman of the State Duma B.V. Gryzlova, was awarded honorary signs from the Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR, the Central Committee of the Komsomol, the Ministry of Education of the USSR, and the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Literature

Arnold Kirillovich Tulokhonov / State. public scientific and technical bib-ka Sib. department of Russian Federation acad. Sciences, Baikal. Institute of Natural Resources Sibirsk. department of Russian Federation acad. sciences; comp.: N.B. Boldanova, L.A. Mandrinina. - Novosibirsk: State Public Scientific and Technical Library SB RAS, 2008. - 136 p. (Materials for the biobibliography of Siberian scientists). - ISBN 978-5-94560-155-0.