Latvian Academy of Sciences: Reform It or Let It Go?
Following events surrounding India-born Divya Vishwanath and her Latvian citizenship, Delfi has revisited the role of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Historian Mārtiņš Mintaurs says the present body continues the Soviet-era academy.
The role and value of the Latvian Academy of Sciences (LZA) have returned to public attention. The trigger is the case of India-born Divya Vishwanath and her Latvian citizenship, which has prompted questions about what the academy actually does and what it contributes to science in Latvia. The news portal Delfi asks whether the institution can still be reformed or has become a relic of the past.
Historical origins
The academy was founded in 1946, during the Soviet occupation, modelled on those of other Soviet republics. Delfi writes that it was built as a centre for planned science in Soviet Latvia and has changed only slowly since independence was restored.
The first ideas for such a centre emerged earlier, under the authoritarian rule of President Kārlis Ulmanis. On 13 January 1936, a law on the Latvian History Institute was adopted. Its Article 8 stated that if a Latvian Academy of Sciences were established, the History Institute would become its first component. The state did not manage to create its own academy before the occupation of Latvia in 1940.
Historian's view
Mārtiņš Mintaurs, a historian and leading researcher at the National Library of Latvia, told Delfi that the current academy continues the Soviet one. He said that in the Soviet period research was concentrated in academies of sciences, while universities held a lower status. According to him, scientists regarded as not good enough for research were sent to universities to lecture.
The available part of the article goes on to mention ideological oversight and a centralised system, but the excerpt does not develop these points.
