YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. "It is no good times for science. Our science together with culture has been the visiting card of the Armenian people for centuries long. The public-political changes of the recent years have had their influence on these spheres as well, and today we have what we have," Radik Martirosian, the Chairman of the RA National Academy of Sciences, declared during his meeting with journalists held on November 2. In the words of Radik Martirosian, the created situation has both objective and subjective reasons, which have brought forth a situation when a scientist has no expectations, he/she is no longer involved in science, or leaves the country in despair. According to the Chairman of the Academy, in 1990 the Academy had 7.5 thousand workers. This number has decreased by half today. The budget allocated for science in 2008 is 1 billion drams more in comparison with that of 2007. In general, 6.8 billion drams is envisaged to be allocated for science next year, which is less than the 1 percent of the expense part of the budget. 88% of the allocated sum makes the salaries, the 12% left is used for other expenses, including payments for the development of the science, maintenance of buildings, and electricity. Radik Martirosian mentioned that according to European theoreticians, in a country, where the budget financing for the science makes less than the one percent of the GDP, science can have no influence on economy. In Armenia it makes 0.29 percent of the GDP. The Chairman of the Academy mentioned that if a calculation is made with the 2008 budget allocations, each scientist will recieve a salary of one million drams (approximately 3000 U.S. dollars) every year, whereas in developed countries this sum reaches 120-140 thousand dollars every year. Radik Martirosian also stated that, nevertheless, most of the institutes of the Academy recieve foreign grants and thus organize their scientific activities. Most of them cooperate with foreign international scientific centers. Most of the scientists, at present, have problem in investing scientific innovations in the local industry. "A local industrialist or a businessman does not yet see the cooperation between him/her and a scientist, especially, when the results of the investments made in the science become visible later," he stressed. Radik Martirosian declared that the scientific developments of Armenian scientists are invested by 10%, in general, in the Armenian economy.

---