Unity of thought: Russia and Belarus form a joint scientific space
As part of scientific and technical cooperation, Russia and Belarus are forming international crews and jointly developing Earth remote sensing vehicles. The first of them will be launched in 2028. It is also assumed that a separate Belarusian module will be built on the Russian orbital station ROS. At the same time, Russian and Belarusian scientists are jointly developing smart electronics, robots and electric motors for cars, laser complexes for communication systems and innovative medical drugs and equipment. This year the countries will hold another joint competition of scientific projects.
What scientific programs Russia and Belarus are implementing
Scientists of Russia and Belarus are actively cooperating within the Union State, their efforts are aimed at protecting national interests and developing science and industrial technologies, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Gennady Krasnikov told Izvestia.
- The most promising areas of cooperation have been identified, including microelectronics, agriculture, medicine and biosafety, social sciences, mechanical engineering, and artificial intelligence. Taking into account the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, active work is also underway to preserve historical memory and counter attempts to falsify history," he said.
According to him, scientists of the two countries are scrupulously working out program documents. In particular, the Strategy of scientific and technological development of the Union State for the period up to 2035, approved last year, was thoroughly discussed in the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
In total, more than 60 joint large-scale scientific and technical programs have been implemented during the years of the Union State construction. Now scientists are working on more than 10 major joint projects.
One of the significant directions of scientific partnership in the Union State is space exploration. For example, in March-April, the first Belarusian woman cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya visited the Russian segment of the International Space Station. She went into orbit on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft and returned 14 days later on the descent vehicle of the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft. Currently, the National Academy of Sciences of the republic is also considering the possibility of creating a separate module on the prospective Russian Orbital Station (ROS).
Marina Vasilevskaya, a member of the 21st expedition to the ISS from Belarus, looks at a matryoshka doll with her own image near the descent vehicle of the Soyuz MS-24 manned spacecraft. April 6, 2024
In addition, the countries are implementing joint programs "Integration-SG" and "Complex-SG". They are aimed at developing space systems for remote sensing of the Earth and monitoring of large infrastructure facilities. In particular, thanks to these developments, specialists will be able to carry out high-precision control of methane emissions at gas pipelines, monitor the state of forests, forecast crops and search for minerals from space. The first satellite of the Union State will be sent into space in 2028.
Other significant projects of Russian-Belarusian scientific and technical cooperation include "Intelavto", in which scientists create intelligent control electronics systems and electric motors for motor vehicles. In the "Component-F" program, researchers are developing samples of laser equipment for use in high-speed communications, fusion and medical technology. And the Soyuz-Biomembranes project , adopted in 2024, is aimed at developing new pharmaceuticals and world-class medical equipment. Its result, as scientists expect, will be intensive development of personalized medicine in the Union State.
Joint megasciences programs
- In the scientific and technical spheres, Russian and Belarusian scientists cooperate not in dozens but in hundreds of areas. There is a large-scale substantive work in this area," State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev told Izvestia.
He noted that the consistent work of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the Kurchatov Institute, the inclusion of the Standing Committee of the Union State primarily in support of union programs, which are financed from a single budget - all this is a confirmation of the plans and instructions, which are defined by the heads of state.
According to him, the countries are implementing projects that unite many industries at once. The focus of attention of the scientific teams of the two countries is space, energy, informatics, artificial intelligence, as well as human health, biology and agriculture.
As experts note, the number of joint projects between scientists of the two countries is growing rapidly in Russia and Belarus. This includes an increasing number of allied scientific laboratories, research and production centers and technoparks.
A good example is the collective work of scientists from Russia, Belarus and other countries in the International Center for Neutron, Synchrotron and Laser Research on the basis of the high-flow research reactor PIK at the St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics (PIAP) named after B.P. Konstantinov, which is part of the Kurchatov Institute.
At the same time, a representative office of the Russian scientific organization is successfully operating in Minsk. It is based at the Physico-Technical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The representative office includes laboratories for megasciences projects, genetic research, innovative technologies in microelectronics, ionizing radiation detectors, and a laboratory for cognitive and socio-humanitarian research.
The press service of Rosatom told Izvestia that the company is expanding cooperation with Belarusian scientific organizations in such areas as nuclear medicine, energy storage systems, new materials, digital and additive technologies.
In addition, together with the Belarusian Ministry of Health, the corporation is working on the construction of a Nuclear Medicine Center with a cyclotron complex. The possibility of re-equipping Belarusian oncology centers with the Brachium complex - Russian equipment for contact radiation therapy - is also being considered.
Synchrotron (cyclotron) with a diameter of 5 m and a weight of about 20 tons in the Department of Experimental Nuclear Medicine of the A.F. Tsyb MRSC, a branch of the NIIC Radiology Research Institute of the Ministry of Health of Russia
Among other associations of Russian and Belarusian scientists that have achieved significant scientific results, according to experts, is the SIC of petroleum and forest chemical technologies on the basis of the Institute of Chemistry of New Materials of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the G.K. Boreskov Institute of Catalysis of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The organization, in particular, is engaged in the creation of new materials based on renewable plant resources. Russian and Belarusian scientists successfully implement unique joint projects in fundamental physics at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna.
What scientific competitions are organized in the Union State
- The development of partnership can be judged by the competitions organized by our Foundation together with the Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research (BRFFR). We have already organized two such events. In total, more than 250 applications were received. These are the projects of joint research of teams of young Russian and Belarusian scientists," said Deputy Director General of the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) Andrei Blinov.
He added that the competitions support projects in all branches of knowledge. Their results - the solution of specific practical problems in the field of artificial intelligence, computer technology, pharmaceuticals, genetics, transportation, energy, nuclear and radiation safety.
For example, a project of Moscow State Construction University and Brest State Technical University is currently supported at the contest. It is aimed at creating a computational complex for modeling energy and force processes in building structures. The development will increase the safety and service life of structures.
The project of a model for calculating climate change using artificial intelligence, proposed by researchers from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (St. Petersburg) and the Institute of Nature Management of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (Minsk), also found support. The realization of the development will help to forecast climate change on the horizon of two decades.
A total of 55 projects were selected by the RNF and BRFFI based on the results of the first two competitions. This year, the funds plan to hold a third competition with the start of project financing in 2026. This competition is designed for Russian and Belarusian scientists of all ages. The research will be funded from two sides - RNF and BRFFI. The amount of funds allocated by the Russian Federation will be up to 21 million rubles per project.
