Kandidat or Candidate of Science is a holder of a first post-graduate scientific degree in the former USSR and in some Post-Soviet and East European countries, awarded for a dissertation (the Doctor of Science is one level higher than the Kandidat). The degree was established on January 13 1934 by a decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. It corresponded to the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.), existing in the USA, the United Kingdom and other countries.