Is a Researcher’s Status a Position or a Title?

The article raises the question of the urgent need to reintroduce the academic title of senior researcher in research institutes in order to confirm the level of a specialist and compliance with the position held. We consider the necessity to differentiate between researchers’ positions and their ranks and discuss the topic of unification of academic degrees used in the Russian hierarchy in the field of research with degrees accepted in the international practice. The advantages of the verified system of the table of scientific ranks that existed in the USSR are demonstrated. It is recommended to revive it in modern Russia, since it can really and objectively stimulate researchers to advance in the academic field. The expediency of confirming statuses of researchers with a multifactorial consideration of their positions, academic degrees and titles is shown.