Abstract <p>Since econometrics was born, it has become not merely a standard tool for analyzing empirical economic data but also a separate independent branch of economics. The disregard and even suppression of important methodological limitations in applying econometrics to identify relations in statistical data has hollowed out the meaning of a significant share of studies currently conducted and published while fully meeting all established formal quality criteria<i>.</i> Elements of reasonable skepticism about the results of econometric studies are not instigated by standard economics education programs. The content of this education leaves no room even for discussing the debate between J.M. Keynes and J. Tinbergen. A major event for this topic, the debate regards the adequacy of applying economic methods to resolve economics issues. In Russia, this issue is additionally aggravated by a long-standing crisis of sovereignty in economics education, which began after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This work exposes the origins and analyzes the causes of the current state of things and formulates premises for developing the discussion about improving the applicability of econometric methods. High-priority managerial procedures are discussed for reformatting the teaching of econometrics and initiating interdisciplinary discussions on preventing unscrupulous application of statistical methods in Russian science.</p>