Smart men and smart women: various representatives of the Mont Blanc of Russian science review on the main topic of the 2nd issue of the journal "Historian" for 2024 "Foundation of the academy: on the 300th anniversary of the scientific brainchild of Peter I"

"Don't end up at the tail end!" - this is the original and more than topical title that V. Rudkov, editor of the popular periodical "Historian", given to his editorial. Today, the development of Russian science, - he emphasized with a degree of anxiety, - is one of the main factors in overcoming our technological and mental dependence. Our Academy has a great history behind us, and we hope that we have an equally great future ahead. The three-hundredth anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences is an important reason to think about what else needs to be done to ensure that these hopes come true" (p. 1). Trying to answer this difficult question, the editorial team decided to compile the second issue of the journal from essays telling about the pros and cons of the Academy's work in 1724-2024. To what extent did their authors manage to create objective and full-blooded portraits of academicians: both full of wisdom and sometimes completely narrowminded; altruists and sometimes outright egoists; talented and, in some cases, untalented?