ABSTRACT
During the Soviet period, the academic profession was prestigious. It attracted the most-talented people and gave them good monetary and nonmonetary rewards, such as social status and an unusually high degree of personal freedom (compared to many other professions). In some disciplines (i.e., physics or mathematics), research was well integrated into world science, and in others, research was conducted in relative isolation. High standards were required to enter and stay in a profession and were maintained within the academic profession.
