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Radik Martirosyan, president of the National Academy of Science, finds it hard to picture that in the post-Soviet area or in Eastern Europe there would be a country where science would receive a smaller amount of money than Armenia does. “In 2008, this figure comes to 3.6 billion dram, around 10 million dollars, an amount that funds a large laboratory in the West,” Martirosyan stated at a meeting today at the academy.

Scientists are dissatisfied with the lack of funding received from the government for certain areas of science, as they are dissatisfied with the little money received through grants. This was one of the rare days when scientists and academics expressed their complaints. Martirosyan, concerning the lack of funding, said that the equipment used in laboratories was outdated and worn out. “New equipment is very expensive, which is the reason we are using equipment from the Soviet era,” he said.

Since the beginning of reforms in 2006, new equipment has not been purchased, yet the number of scientific workers has decreased. Of the 7,500 workers in the past, 3,750 remain, of whom only 2,200 are scientific workers. The academy president also said that there was a shortage of young scientists in the country.

The quality of science was put into doubt by Aleksander Gevorgyan, professor of organic chemistry. “We find ourselves in a difficult situation,” he said. You know, a department receives a sum of money, and is told, ‘go and work, as you see fit.’ There is no quality whatsoever in our science today,” he angrily said.

Radik Martirosyan hopes that ongoing reforms will have positive results. “We hope science here will return to its former position of respect,” he said.