APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110012-0
the CSAV who are permitted travel to foreign countries are carefully screened and selected according to their party loyalty. In November 1971 the status of science was reported as extremely low because of purges so that there was a pronounced stagnation of activities at most institutes and university research centers. The federal Minister of Education was eliminated and some liberalization occurred. In late 1972, however, the government was continuing to exert pressure on the scientific community to increase cooperation with their Soviet counterparts and to refrain from contacts with Western scientists. Great emphasis was placed on maintaining good relations with party officials since it was made clear that the party would not tolerate neutral and liberal scientists in the country.
Scientific and technical activity has been seriously disrupted by the above repressions and changes. The present government has cut back drastically on scientific research funding and has redirected much of the effort into applied fields. As a result of currency restrictions, it is also almost impossible for the scientists to purchase Western equipment and supplies. However, the most drastic changes have been at administrative levels, and the large body of scientists and engineers is continuing to conduct significant research. Basic research in medical sciences is continuing. In most branches of science, however, the research effort is being directed mainly into those areas which contribute to the country's economic or military strength. Although many competent scientists and engineers have left Czechoslovakia since the 1968 invasion, the country has many capable young scientists and engineers to replace those who have left.
Czechoslovakia has attempted to maintain scientific contacts with both Communist and Western countries. Since August 1968, the Soviets have insisted that Czechoslovakia strengthen its scientific ties with the U.S.S.R. and other Communist countries. There has been extensive scientific-technological cooperation between Czechoslovakia and the U.S.S.R. Several thousand Czechoslovaks have visited the Soviet Union to study research and development methods and production technology. As of July 1971, it was reported that about 200 Czechoslovak organizations and about 200 Soviet organizations were engaged in a corresponding number of joint scientific research and development projects. However, at the working level there has reportedly been considerable animosity between scientists from the two countries, notably at the U.S.S.R.'s nuclear research facility at Serpukhov. Czechoslovakia has signed bilateral agreements with other Communist countries and with some Western countries for exchanges of personnel, information, and materials. In June 1972 a contract was signed between petrochemical enterprises in Czechoslovakia and East Germany calling for economic, scientific, and technical cooperation in the production and exploitation of unsaturated hydrocarbons.
During the past 10 years, scientific and technological relations have expanded considerably between Sweden and Czechoslovakia. Cooperation has been effected through agreements between scientific and engineering academies and between governments. As a result, Czechoslovak scientists have participated actively for periods of a year or more in special projects at various Swedish institutes. A bilateral agreement between the two governments was signed in October 1971. One of its objectives was to strengthen scientific and technical cooperation.
Czechoslovakia belongs to many organizations of the International Council of Scientific Unions and has participated in their worldwide cooperative programs. It is a member of such international scientific bodies as the International Union of Geology and Geophysics (IUGG), the International Union of Biological Sciences, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and Physics, the International Union of Food Science and Technology, and the International Astronomical Union. Czechoslovakia participates also in various U.N. agencies such as the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Czechoslovakia has in the past provided facilities for international scientific meetings; for example, the Prague Symposium on Macromolecular Chemistry attracted scientists from 27 countries and the International Union of Biological Sciences held its 15th Congress in Prague. In 1966 the World Congress of Archaeology held its sessions in Prague. Over 300 scientists attended a 5-day symposium on geophysics in October 1972.
B. Organization, planning, and financing of research (S)
Scientific research and development are controlled and administered primarily by the federal government, which in turn is under the control of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. Since 1 January 1969 the government has reorganized its ministries, abolishing most of the ministries which existed prior to that time, and has strengthened its control over the
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110012-0
