Gift in return: Putin noted the ability of young scientists not to be afraid of difficult questions

The future of Russia largely depends on the breakthrough discoveries of young scientists. Their developments allow the country to identify trends in technology development. Vladimir Putin said this on February 5 at the presentation of the Science and Innovation Awards for 2025. Among the awardees are scientists who have created safe "atomic batteries" for drones and satellites, as well as researchers who have discovered ways to extract lithium from water. In which field Russian science is leading today and which projects are still being developed, see the Izvestia article.

What is the future of Russia and how the theorems of the 19th century remain relevant

On the eve of Russian Science Day, which is celebrated on February 8, Vladimir Putin presented prizes to young scientists. The laureates gathered in the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin on February 5. This award has been given since 2008 to those who are under 35 years old. Starting in 2019, the amount of each award is 5 million rubles.

— All of you have chosen an interesting, worthy, and I would say exciting cause — serving progress. In this passion, the tireless search for new knowledge is the key to great discoveries. The future of our country, its development and prosperity largely depend on them," Vladimir Putin addressed the audience.

He drew attention to the fact that in the scientific field, behind every great achievement and breakthrough is not only the hard work and outstanding talents of researchers, but, as a rule, a strong school. "Having a galaxy of such scientific communities is our most important advantage," the head of state added.

The developments of Russian scientists allow the country to identify trends in the development of future technologies, the president noted. Moreover, scientific schools have already provided a significant foundation for modern development. Over a glass of champagne, which Vladimir Putin traditionally raised with the awardees, he was surprised to learn that some scientists had managed to generalize two theorems of the 19th century. "Nothing goes missing — all the fundamental research, they are actually applied, they are just implemented later," he added.

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— All our laureates have a pioneering spirit. You are not afraid of unanswered questions. But you are looking for these answers and you find them. You are looking for solutions and are focused on achieving national and global goals," the President emphasized.

Where will lithium be extracted from in Russia

Seven people have been awarded the prestigious Presidential Prize in science and innovation by the end of 2025. According to Science.Russia, this is the largest number of researchers in the history of the award. Alexander Anikin and Pavel Moseev were awarded for the creation of "atomic batteries" for space technology. As the scientists explained, their development is dedicated to the creation of new autonomous power sources with a long service life.

— Our products use the radioactive isotope tritium as a beta radiation source. This is the first time such devices have been created in Russia," Alexander Anikin explained to Izvestia.

Their competitive advantage is the ability to operate under extreme conditions (low and high temperatures and high pressure) for a long time (more than 15 years). These are miniature and long-lasting microwatt-range current sources that are designed to power critical and energy-intensive sensors and nodes. This includes spacecraft, drones, and equipment located in hard—to-reach places - on the ocean floor, in deep wells, or in remote Arctic territories, the scientist said.

Despite the fact that radioactive materials are used in the composition of the "batteries", their housing completely protects against radiation. Therefore, the devices are safe for people and the environment. In his opening remarks, Vladimir Putin noted this scientific invention.: it confirms that Russia has been demonstrating autonomy, reliability and durability for thousands of years. These qualities are inherent in the country even in the current difficult conditions, they also move it forward, the president noted.

Vladimir Putin also presented a laureate badge to associate professor of Kuban State University Dmitry Butylsky. His research focuses on the development of membrane technologies for lithium extraction from aqueous brines. The implementation of the development will make it possible to establish industrial extraction of lithium, for example, from associated waters of gas and oil fields in Eastern Siberia and other sources. Thus, the Russian industry will provide itself with cheap and affordable raw materials for the production of lithium-ion batteries — the basis for electric vehicles, energy storage systems and other attributes of an environmentally friendly economy.

Vladimir Putin decided to ask the young scientist about this in more detail in an informal setting. In particular, from which sources lithium can be extracted. The scientist explained that it can be obtained not from any water (that is, not from open sources), but from reservoirs under the earth's crust, which become available during oil and gas production. "The whole world is chasing lithium, and you're out of the water," the president joked.

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The achievements of Artem Isaev, a teacher at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, were noted. He and his team have found ways to overcome the resistance of microbes to drugs with the help of their natural enemies — bacterial viruses (bacteriophages). The discovery lays the foundation for the creation of effective bacteriophage viruses for the treatment of infections resistant to conventional antibiotics. The President called the Russian Federation one of the leaders in solving the problem of antibiotic resistance.

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The largest awarded team was a group of mathematicians from Lomonosov Moscow State University — Victoria Vedyushkina, Vladislav Kibkalo, Gleb Belozerov. They were awarded the prize "for the discovery and research of generalized billiards and topological modeling of Hamiltonian systems."

— I say, Victoria, I can't even pronounce what you're doing. She says, "It's okay! The main thing is that I pronounce," the president joked, attaching her a laureate badge.

Victoria explained that this development makes it possible to create a mathematical language to visually describe a much more complex class of physical phenomena and better model the behavior of systems. For example, artificial vehicles in space.

— These models describe the movement of ideal particles inside a limited area, like balls inside a billiard table. Only these areas can be different — circles, ellipses, and polygons. We have expanded the classic concept to include a new type of model, "billiard books". In them, the particle, having reached the edge, does not bounce inside the same area, but moves to the other side of it. How a bug crawls to the back of a leaf in a brochure, or how a hero jumps to a new level in a computer game," Victoria Vedyushina shared with Izvestia.

In an informal conversation, the head of state learned from young scientists what other discoveries should be expected. So, the president was told about plans to use unstable isotopes for the treatment of oncological diseases. The head of state was also interested in the study of neural networks, which Russian scientists continue to improve.