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Victims of the sanctions inflicted on the Kremlin, Russians choose to leave their country to secure a brighter professional future. Initiated with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, this brain drain is growing with the war in Ukraine.
© Getty — Sergey Pyatakov – Host Photo Agency
While it has been almost a month since the Russian invasion began in Ukraine, the international sanctions taken by the West to weaken the Kremlin continue to affect the Russian population. Faced with the suspension of the activities in Russia of major American and international groups, Russians are today deprived of access to many services and stores, most of them even having to review their professional ambitions in the country.
Some choose to leave Russia to ensure a brighter professional future. The technology sector is particularly affected by this phenomenon. And for good reason: Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, PayPal, Intel, Oracle, Electronic Arts, Twitter or even Spotify have decided to stop their activities or reduce them considerably in the wake of the war started by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 had already prompted many Russian companies to take steps to reassure their international investors. But what was only a marginal phenomenon seven years ago is growing considerably in view of the current context.
The shutdown of Western activities in Russia, combined with measures such as the exclusion of several Russian banks from the Swift system, thus leads to an exodus of entrepreneurs, computer programmers and other talents from the technological sphere, Western sanctions and political instability now making it difficult, if not impossible, to run an international business in Russia. However, despite a wealth of skills, some Russians struggle to build a new life abroad, as they face growing anti-Russian sentiment in the West as well as economic sanctions.
Georgia, Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan or Thailand, the main destinations of the Russian brain drain
To illustrate this delicate situation for Russian nationals, TechCrunch exchanged with several Russian entrepreneurs and investors who have chosen to leave their country of origin. The American site cites in particular the example of Eugene Konash, who had staff in Russia working remotely for his London-based video game studio Dc1ab.
Surprised by the extent of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the entrepreneur from Belarus first saw the bank of one of his employees affected by the sanctions, the international transfers being therefore blocked on his account. The situation then deteriorated further when the studio’s investors informed Eugene Konash that his company could no longer receive capital if it maintained a significant presence in Russia. His team based on Russian territory therefore felt that it was time to leave.
Leaving is also the choice made by Nikita Blanc, who gave up her surname (Akimov) four years ago. Based in Moscow, he has started the process of incorporating in Delaware (United States) his company Heyeveryone, which is developing a tool to automate the management of relations with investors, reports TechCrunch. After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the entrepreneur decided to pack his bags with his wife and daughter for Georgia, one of the main destinations for the current influx of Russian talent. Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Thailand are among the other destinations of this brain drain in Russia. To organize their departure and help each other, tens of thousands of Russians exchange in groups on Telegram messaging, explains the American media.
Russians, we’re screwed
But in the face of international sanctions against Russia and the measures taken by players such as PayPal, Mastercard and Visa, it is becoming difficult for expatriate customers of Russian banks to use their bank cards abroad. To circumvent these measures, some Russians are trying to obtain a new nationality. TechCrunch cites the example of a Siberian-born gaming investor who applied for Singaporean citizenship to prevent his Russian nationality from cutting him off from the US dollar-based financial system. “Ukrainians are accepted as refugees all over the world, but we Russians are screwed”lamented this investor to the site specializing in start-up news.
In these conditions, “those educated, freedom-seeking Russian tech workers are unlikely to turn back”valued TechCrunchwho adds that these Russians about to leave “were surprisingly calm when recounting their country’s misfortunes, in part because they were mentally prepared for the inevitable farewell”. As the war in Ukraine drags on, this exodus of Russian tech talent should therefore continue, provided they are not considered pariahs on the international stage.