Russia's grand plan

摘要

The creation of a second pillar of excellence will give the country a chance to regain its scientific stature. When former Russian President Vladimir Putin identified nanotechnology as the spearhead for Russia's economic and technological renewal, critics scoffed, saying that the move was ill-prepared and bound to fail. The multi-billion-dollar initiative would drown in corruption and nepotism, they said. Jokes made the rounds about 'banano' business.rnThe nanotechnology initiative includes nanoscale techniques with applications in a broad variety of fields, from materials research to mechanical engineering, and from electronics to medicine and biotechnology.