Finland is the first Western European country to sign such an agreement with Russia, chairman of the Council of the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation Yury Vorotnikov told journalists in Helsinki.
In addition, the sides signed an agreement to hold a joint contest as part of the joint research program.
The Academy of Finland worked out the program "Russia in the Course of Reforms." The Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation, in turn, is implementing the Changing Russia program.
"A small thematic aspect was outlined within the framework of these programs to study the whole range of political, social, philological, economic and juridical problems of mass media functioning in Russia," Yury Vorotnikov said.
According to him, this is a pilot contest, which will be launched on April 13 in Finland and on April 30 in Russia. Four-five Russian-Finnish projects will be backed following the results of the contest. By the end of 2005 the foundation's experts are to select the projects, which are to be supported. Their financing will begin on January 1, 2006.
The Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation established in 1994 backed the implementation of some 18,000 research projects and publication of about 3,500 books over ten years of its existence.
Moreover, the foundation promotes one of Russia's most famous research expeditions, the Novgorod archeological expedition supervised by academician Valentin Yanin.
The foundation signed a cooperation agreement with Belarus and Ukraine and plans to sign such agreements with Kyrgyzstan and Moldova. It also maintains close contacts with Lithuania.
