Doctor of Sciences
Doctor of Sciences (Russian: доктор наук, IPA: [ˈdoktər nɐˈuk], abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; Ukrainian: доктор наук; Bulgarian: доктор на науките; Belarusian: доктар навук) is a higher doctoral degree in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and many post-Soviet countries, which may be earned after the Candidate of Sciences.
See also: Candidate of SciencesHistory[edit]
The "Doctor of Sciences" degree was introduced in the Russian Empire in 1819 and abolished in 1917. Later it was revived in the USSR on January 13, 1934, by a decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.[1] By the same decision, a lower degree, "Candidate of Sciences" (kandidat nauk), roughly the Russian equivalent to the research doctorate in other countries, was first introduced. This system was generally adopted by the USSR/Russia and many post-Soviet/Eastern bloc states, including Bulgaria, Belarus, former Czechoslovakia, Poland (since abolished), and Ukraine.
But the former Yugoslav degree "Doktor nauka" / "Доктор наука" / "Doktor znanosti", still awarded by Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia follows the Bologna Process and is therefore equivalent to either a PhD, or to a higher doctorate, depending on the institution awarding the degree.