Russia Continues to Lose Scientists as Kremlin Cuts Back Funding

File Photo of Test Tubes with Algae Displaying Different Colors, Part of U.S. Energy-Related Research; from nrel.gov

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Oct. 10, 2021) The number of scholars and associated personnel working in the natural sciences has fallen to the lowest level in at least ten years, with the total number employed down a third from the number at the end of Soviet times, according to a new Higher School of Economics study. […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Best Way to Deal With Russia: Wait for It to Implode” – Politico/ Peter Eltsov

Russia Regions Map

“… Putin has moved to annex former Soviet territories, orchestrated cyberattacks on foreign infrastructure and rolled back domestic democratic protections …. [I]n reality, Russia today is much weaker than either the Romanov Empire, which lasted from 1613 to 1917, or the Soviet Union. Russia’s biggest problem is internal: … fail[ing] to produce a national identity … encompass[ing] its entire population. […]

» Read more

The Kremlin is pushing for a “sovereign internet”. But at what cost? As Russia’s moves towards a “sovereign internet” gather speed, Russia’s IT sector is weighing up the cost of isolation.

File Image of Artist's Conception of Globe with Curved Connecting Lines of Light Passing Through Space, adapted from image at fincen.gov

(opendemocracy.net – Liliia Zemnukhova – July 30, 2019) Liliia Zemnukhova is a researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Federal Scientific Sociological Centre and the Centre for Researching Science and Technology at the European University at St Petersburg. “The best programmers are actively leaving the country,” Pyotr, the head of a St Petersburg IT start-up, tells me. “Many major western […]

» Read more

Economic Decline Won’t Spark a Revolution and Kremlin Sees No Need for Change, Inozemtsev Says

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, June 27, 2019) Many suggest that the continuing economic decline of Russia will prompt people to go into the streets and demand change, Vladislav Inozemtsev says; but “nowhere on post-Soviet space have we see mass protests arise as a result of economic issues.” The Russian people will come to terms with their […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia is no place for young people” – Deutsche Welle

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

It’s almost impossible to find a decent salary and comfortable living conditions in Russia. For many young people, the only options are to build a life in Moscow or leave the country, says Anastasia Arinushkina. “… half of Russia’s citizens are unhappy with the size of their salaries and struggle to pay for health care and education, according to recent […]

» Read more

Russia Makes Progress When It Looks Outward and Suffers When It Turns in on Itself, Inozemtsev Says

Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, April 5, 2019) Yezhednevny zhurnal offers another chapter from Vladislav Inozemtsev’s new book, An Uncontemporary Country, a chapter that demonstrates that whenever Russia has turned outward and involved itself with the rest of the world, it has made progress but that when it has turned in on itself, it has not only […]

» Read more

Gallup Poll Shows One In Five Russians Would Migrate West If Possible

Satellite Image of Earth in Style of Mercator Map, adapted from image at nasa.gov

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – April 4, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russian-migrate-west-gallup-poll-one-in-five/29861985.html) One in five Russians say they would leave their country if they could, according to a new poll by Gallup. The Washington-based pollster said on April 4 that since 2014, the percentage of working-age Russians who say they […]

» Read more

U.S. Shuts Down Only Immigration Office in Russia, Citing Falling Demand

File Photo of U.S. Embassy Moscow, with Russian Foreign Ministry Building in Distance

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 7, 2019) The United States has announced that it will close its only immigration office in Russia next month over what it called a “significant decrease in workload.” The move follows two years of mutual diplomatic staff cuts and consulate closures after the U.S. said that Russia interfered in its presidential election in 2016. […]

» Read more

RUSSIALINK: “Official Data Vastly Underestimates Russian Emigration – Report” – Moscow Times

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 16, 2019) At least six times more Russians are leaving the country than officially estimated, a comprehensive study conducted by the Proekt news outlet said on Wednesday. Proekt’s report highlights discrepancies between official data from the Rosstat federal statistics agency and data compiled by countries where Russians emigrate to. Rosstat estimates 377,000 Russians left […]

» Read more

NEWSLINK: “Russia’s ‘Brain Drain’ and the Prospects for Regime Transformation” – Russian and Eurasian Politics/Gordon M. Hahn

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

“The U.S. government … is claiming a sharp spike in asylum claims from Russian citizens, hitting a 24-year high in 2017 …. One of the main drivers of revolutionary forms of democratic regime transformation, according to contemporary social science, is the lack of sufficient social mobility for middle class youth that often emerges in authoritarian countries with high or rising […]

» Read more

Russia’s Brain Drain on the Rise Over Economic Woes – Report

Artist's Rendition of Head and Brain, adapted from .gov image at lbl.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 24, 2018) An increasing number of educated Russians are leaving the country for economic and political reasons, according to researchers at a prestigious Russian state university. Researchers at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) conducted interviews with Russian emigrants abroad and cited statistics from countries receiving them. Previous reports […]

» Read more

NEWSLINK Irrussianality/Paul Robinson: “FOREIGN EDUCATION”

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

“According to the website Znak, a strong recommendation has been issued to Russian state officials to bring home any children who are studying abroad. Strictly speaking, this is not mandatory, but ‘One of the sources said that anyone who fails to act, will find such non-compliance to be a “complicating factor in the furtherance of their public sector career”.’ This […]

» Read more

NEWSLINK RTBH: “Kremlin seeking to repatriate children of Russia’s elite, say reports”

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

Amid growing tensions between Russia and the West, Russian media have reported that the children of officials who are living abroad will soon have to return to Russia.

» Read more

Russia Must Deal With Catastophic Brain Drain; With brain drain, only leaders and those who leave are winners: the country is the big loser.

Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yelena Mukhametshina – October 7, 2016) After suffering a major brain drain in the 1990s, Russia is once again witnessing a rise in emigration. But whereas people back then left the country because of the crumbling economy, now they are leaving even as the government attempts to diversify it, writes Committee for Civil Initiatives (CCI) […]

» Read more

The Exodus Equation: Study Shows Russian Math Geniuses Excelling In West

Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Antoine Blua – January 24, 2016) The massive exodus of scientists since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union is a known phenomenon that has greatly affected the field of mathematics. More than 30 speakers invited to address the 1986 International Congress of Mathematicians in California came from the Soviet Union — most of them from […]

» Read more

Russian Students to Get Paid Foreign Education – If They Return Home Afterward

Columbia University Campus with Main Building

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 9, 2015) Russia will pay for its students to study at elite foreign universities, provided they return home to work after graduation, Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov was cited as saying by news agency TASS. The program, titled “Global Education,” was signed into force in June 2014 and is designed to send 1,500 […]

» Read more

Exiled Kremlin Critic Becomes EBRD Chief Economist

Sergei Guriev file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 4, 2015) Sergei Guriev, a former adviser to the Russian government who fled the country two years ago, has been appointed chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the bank said in a statement Tuesday. Guriev is to take up his post in summer 2016. He will become the first […]

» Read more

Thirteen Percent of Russians Want to Move Abroad – Poll

Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 15, 2015) Thirteen percent of Russians would like to move abroad, while 17 percent of Muscovites would like to do so, a poll revealed Monday. Almost half of those who want to leave Russia for good – 38 percent – are young people between the ages of 18 and 24, research by the state-run […]

» Read more

RBTH: Success in the U.S.: How Three young Soviet-born entrepreneurs made it; Strong family ties and work ethics were key for these young businessmen

United States Map, adapted from image at epa.gov

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Aleksandra Efimova, special to RBTH – July 13, 2015) I recently spoke with three young entrepreneurs, each born in the Soviet Union. I wanted to discover if these sharp and accomplished young businesspeople shared common threads that could be followed back to their Soviet origins. Leon Oks, founder of iCanvas, is 34 years […]

» Read more

Jews Are Fleeing Russia Because Of Putin

Torah Scrolls

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Roman Super, Claire Bigg – July 3, 2015) Just a year ago, Russian journalist Vladimir Yakovlev was one of Moscow’s most influential media figures. Today, he lives a quiet life in Tel Aviv and has swapped his Russian passport for an Israeli one. Yakovlev, the founder of the respected Kommersant publishing house and the Snob magazine, […]

» Read more

Banned if they do, banned if they don’t; Unable to change things in their own country, Russians are quietly leaving for good – but they will still check out Crimea

Russian State Duma Building file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Julia Reed in Moscow – June 11, 2015) Each week in Russia some obscure Duma deputy no one has ever heard of before proposes a new law. Usually, the proposal gets instant and almost unanimous approval of the legislative body and within days becomes law, signed by the head of state. Usually it’s a […]

» Read more

Some Who Left: A New Wave Of Russian Emigration

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Robert Coalson – April 21, 2015) Hundreds of thousands have left Russia over the last two years, citing a variety of political, economic, and personal reasons. According to Russian government statistics, 203,000 people left the country permanently in the first eight months of 2014. That’s up from 186,000 in 2013, and very likely to break Russia’s […]

» Read more

Most Russian Students Want to Find Jobs Abroad

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 26, 2014) Three of every four Russian university students would prefer to work abroad rather than in Russia, Newsru.com reported Monday, citing a survey conducted by Career.ru. The survey revealed that 77 percent of Russian students found the prospect of overseas employment more appealing than working at home. Those most hopeful for overseas jobs […]

» Read more

Re: 2014-#177-JRL #24 Reuters: Putin’s Ukraine gamble hastens exodus of Russian money and talent.

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

Subject: Re: 2014-#177-JRL #24 Reuters: Putin’s Ukraine gamble hastens exodus of Russian money and talent. Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 From: Sergey Slobodyan <Sergey.Slobodyan@cerge-ei.cz> This isn’t the first time I’ve seen the utterly ridiculous claim that recent Rosstat migration data proves existence of “exodus of Russian talent”: “Russia’s statistics service data shows 186,382 moved abroad in 2013 and 122,751 in […]

» Read more

Crimea-Induced Brain Drain Will Hurt Russia More than Sanctions, Gontmakher Says

Ukraine Map and Flag

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 7, 2014) The domestic consequences of Moscow’s Crimean policy combined with Russia’s weakening economic prospects will drive ever more young Russians to seek work and possibly permanent residence abroad, an “exodus” that will hurt the country far more than any of the sanctions announced so far, according to Yevgeny Gontmakher. In […]

» Read more

Housing and High Wages Will Stop Russian ‘Brain Drain’ – Russian Official

Artist's Conception of Nanotechnology Components

MOSCOW, April 2 (RIA Novosti) – New housing incentives and high wages will help prevent young Russian scientists from leaving the country, a Russian official said Wednesday during a meeting of young scientists in Siberia. “I think that we should create better conditions so that our young scientists are motivated to build their career here in the country. And by […]

» Read more

Fearing Persecution, Bolotnoye Suspects Flee Abroad

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – February 19, 2014) When a judge delivers a verdict Friday in the high-profile Bolotnoye case, the defendants’ cage will contain eight people. It might have held dozens more if some of the potential suspects had not fled abroad, fearing unfair prosecution in what many observers call a politically motivated trial aimed at […]

» Read more

Interfax: Number of new Russian citizens order of magnitude larger than number of emigrants – FMS

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

MOSCOW. Feb 4 (Interfax) – Fewer Russians are taking permanent residence abroad, according to the Federal Migration Service. “Approximately 26,000-27,000 took permanent residence abroad last year. There has been a decline in the number of people leaving for permanent residence in foreign countries since 2008,” Federal Migration Service head Konstantin Romodanovsky said in an interview published by Komsomolskaya Pravda on […]

» Read more

How Wealthy Russians Buy a 2nd Passport

File Photo of Man Placing Stack of Large Bills into Inside Pocket of Suitcoat

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sam Skove – October 18, 2013) When Nuri Katz, founder of investment firm Apex Capital, heads for the customs gate, he gets to decide which of his three passports to use ­ – a privilege that his Russian clients would pay up to 5 million euros to enjoy. Katz is in the citizenship-by-investment business. Select […]

» Read more

Wealthy Russians Hear London Calling and Answer

File Photo of British Parliament Building Including Saint Stephen's Tower Containing Big Ben

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Des Brown – September 25, 2013) “Meet the Russians,” a reality entertainment show produced by Fox TV, will start broadcasting in Britain on Sept. 25. It estimates there are 300,000 Russians now resident in London, and it intends to look at a cross section of the most flamboyant ones. “Prepare to enter a jaw-dropping world […]

» Read more

Why young Russians are leaving the country

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – August 16, 2013) Russians have become more relaxed about emigration ­ yet contrasting opinions still exist. While some people are willing to abandon their native country in search of a better life, others find it difficult to think of leaving their families and friends behind. Almost 50 percent of […]

» Read more

Russia’s Wealthiest Selling Apartments in Moscow and Fleeing Country, Realtors Say

File Photo of Man Placing Stack of Large Bills into Inside Pocket of Suitcoat

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, August 14, 2013) Many in the Russian Federation and the West were shocked when European countries recently published figures showing that thousands of Russians are now seeking asylum or at least permanent residence abroad, but Russian realtors say that behind these numbers is an even more disturbing one. Ever more wealthy Russians […]

» Read more

Russian Attitudes Toward Emigration Softened, Poll Says

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 25, 2013) The attitudes of Russians toward their compatriots who have emigrated are softening, according to a poll carried out by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center. Forty-eight percent of those surveyed said they understood why other Russians had left the country, citing personal comfort and security as justifiable priorities. This is up from […]

» Read more

Navalny’s sentence to lead to outflow of young lawyers, businessmen from Russia – Prokhorov

Alexei Navalny file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 18, 2013) The sentence of opposition activist Alexei Navalny is affecting the interests of small and middle-sized businesses and will lead to the outflow of young lawyers and businessmen from Russia, leader of the Civil Platform party Mikhail Prokhorov said. “The sentence passed on Alexei Navalny and Pyotr Ofitserov is not just a sentence to the […]

» Read more

Pursuit of better life, self-actualization prompts emigration from Russia – poll

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 16, 2013) The pursuit of a better life is the primary cause of emigration from Russia, said 54% of respondents acquainted with prospective emigrants. Sixteen percent explained their emigration as a desire for self-actualization, the Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) told Interfax. Five percent of prospective emigrants believe that life abroad is better organized and […]

» Read more

New wave of Russian emigration: Leave or stay?

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Ponomareva, RBTH – June 10, 2013) Within the space of one week, two prominent representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, known for openly voicing their disagreement with the authorities, have announced their political exile. In early June, former world chess champion and opposition leader Garry Kasparov stated at a press conference in Geneva […]

» Read more

Nearly One Russian in Four Now Wants to Move Abroad, Survey Finds

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 7, 2013) Twenty-two percent of Russians say they would like to move to a foreign country to live and work, up from only 13 percent in 2009, and an indication that the deteriorating political situation in Russia is forcing not only high profile figures like Gari Kasparov but many others as […]

» Read more

More than one in five Russians want to emigrate – poll

Map of Russia

(Interfax – June 6, 2013) The share of Russian citizens who would like to emigrate has risen to 22 per cent, up from 13 per cent in 2009, private-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 6 June, quoting the latest Levada Centre opinion poll. Among students, the figure reaches 45 per cent. The poll was conducted on 23-27 May among […]

» Read more

Almost Half of Russian Students Dream of Emigrating – Poll

Moscow State University

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 6, 2013) ­ Nearly half of Russian students (45 percent) and some 38 percent of businessmen would like to leave Russia, according to a survey by the Levada Center independent pollster published on Thursday. A total of 22 percent of all respondents in the poll want to emigrate from Russia to other countries, not including […]

» Read more

Guriev Exit Renews Brain Drain Fears

Sergei Guriev file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – May 31, 2013) Reports that prominent, liberal economist Sergei Guriev has fled to France under pressure from investigators appeared to send shockwaves through Russia’s Western-leaning elite this week, renewing fears of a brain drain amid an “invisible” wave of emigration. The departure of Guriev, a prominent economist who has advised Prime Minister […]

» Read more

Putin calls for programs to return effective scientists to Russia from abroad

Artist's Conception of Nanotechnology Components

NOVO-OGARYOVO. April 1 (Interfax) – The Russian authorities should think about expanding programs aimed at returning qualified Russians who are working as scientists abroad, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with the students and faculty of the Baltic Federal University. Vladimir Vanag, director of the Institute of Chemistry and Biology at the Baltic Federal University, who earlier worked […]

» Read more

Experts See No Exodus Of Discontented Liberals From Russia

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(RIA Novosti – Moscow, 16 January) On the basis of official statistics, researchers from the Centre of Political Information have made a conclusion that the “liberal panic” in Russia has not led to a mass outflow of “the discontented” from the country. In addition, having analysed the dynamics of migration from Russia to countries other than former Soviet republics, experts […]

» Read more

Diaspora Youths Sold on Russian, but not Russia

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – Dec. 14, 2012) Members of the diaspora who gathered in Moscow on Thursday for the Forum of Russian Compatriots welcomed President Vladimir Putin’s recent edict to support remote Russian language-learning amid efforts in their home countries to limit the status of their mother tongue. However, attendees also voiced doubts that the language […]

» Read more

NEWSLINK: Hand-wringing at dinner with Putin

Cash, Calculator, Pen

Hand-wringing at dinner with Putin – Financial Times – Neil Buckley – October 25, 2012 – http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ced25a3a-1deb-11e2-901e-00144feabdc0.html The Financial Times examines growing limitations on Russian economic prospects, and the resulting impact on the latest “Valdai Discussion Club” dinner: … the event, and the context, has changed a lot. In Valdai’s early years, Russia was growing at 7 per cent a […]

» Read more

Zuckerberg Visit Sparks Brain-Drain Debate in Russia

File Photo of Mark Zuckerberg Gesturing

Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – October 3, 2012 – Leonid Bershidsky, an editor and novelist, is Moscow and Kiev correspondent for World View. For Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Moscow was a great photo opportunity. Some of Russia’s technology entrepreneurs, though, saw it as the latest salvo in a global battle for the […]

» Read more