Question of the day: by what merits did Klishas and Nikonov deserve to receive the "Professor of the Year" award?

At the opening ceremony of the Professor's Forum "Science and Technology in the XXI Century: Trends and Prospects" Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkov presented the Rector of the Year 2021 national prize to the rectors of the Kuban State Medical University, Perm State Institute of Culture, Don State Technical University, Bashkir State Pedagogical University named after M. Akmulla, Far Eastern State Agrarian University and Novosibirsk State University, according to the website of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

In addition, Falkov awarded the laureates of the "Professor of the Year" award - Doctor of Laws Andrey Klishas (pictured) and Doctor of Historical Sciences Vyacheslav Nikonov. The paradox is that both professors became famous mainly for their legislative activity, which has nothing to do with science. It's worth reminding that Klishas is a member of the Federation Council, and Nikonov is a State Duma deputy.

It should be noted that the reaction of social networks to this news was unequivocal: shame! Are there really no professors in the vast country who are really worthy of this award, who have brought up more than one generation of students, for example, or those during whose lectures the audience would be overcrowded? Even if Klishas and Nikonov somehow gained popularity among students, aren't there other professors in Russia for whom this award and public recognition would be really important?

Here are just a few responses:

- I was sure that this was news from Panorama (a popular site of fake news, - ed. note), But life has been funnier for a long time...

- I wrote about this once: “Alas, the Russian professional environment, including the scientific one, often encounters unfavorable selection. This phenomenon also takes the form of awarding various awards to those whose contribution to the development of the relevant industry is absolutely disproportionate to the awards received. A variety of bosses, including government officials, use professional insignia to encourage those who have distinguished themselves not so much in the relevant professional field, as before them personally in solving certain tasks, often bureaucratic in content..."

- Do you know why Kadyrov was bypassed?

- In Ukraine, Yanukovych bought himself the title of “professor”. This has nothing to do with professional skills. This is one of the quirks of class division that occurs in a distribution resource economy.