The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals.

Headquartered in Moscow, the Academy is incorporated as a civil, self-governed, non-commercial organization chartered by the Government of Russia. It combines members of RAS and scientists employed by institutions.

There are three types of membership in the RAS: full members (academicians), corresponding members and foreign members. Academicians and corresponding members must be citizens of the Russian Federation when elected; however, some academicians and corresponding members had been elected before the collapse of the USSR and now are citizens of other countries. Members of RAS are elected based on their scientific contributions and election to membership is considered very prestigious. As of 2005-2007 there are just under 500 full members of the academy and a similar number of corresponding members.

The RAS consists of nine specialized scientific branches, three territorial branches and 14 regional scientific centres. The Academy has numerous councils, committees and commissions, organized for different purposes.

Territorial Branches:

• Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS)

The Siberian Branch was established in 1957, with Mikhail Lavrentyev as founding chairman. Research centres are in Novosibirsk (Akademgorodok), Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Ulan-Ude, Kemerovo, Tyumen and Omsk. As of 2005, the Branch employed over 33,000 employees, 58 of whom were members of the Academy.

• Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (URAN)

The Ural Branch was established in 1932, with Aleksandr Fersman as its founding chairman. Research centres are in Yekaterinburg, Perm, Cheliabinsk, Izhevsk, Orenburg, Ufa and Syktyvkar. As of 2007, the Branch employed 3,600 scientists, 590 of whom were full professors, 31 full members and 58 corresponding members of the Academy.

• Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS)

The Far East Branch includes the Primorsky Scientific Center in Vladivostok, the Amur Scientific Center in Blagoveschensk, the Khabarovsk Scientific Center, the Sakhalin Scientific Center in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the Kamchatka Scientific Center in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the North-Eastern Scientific Center in Magadan.