Do you see a pattern here? All of them are highly educated individuals that speak pretty good English. All of them want to leave the country or move from eastern Siberia to the big cities in the west. In Russia there is an economic and social problem that feeds a brain drain. Smart, educated Russians see the western world as a richer, safer, more comfortable place to live and have a family. On the other hand there is the hard Siberian climate. Siberian cities, while large, are very provincial, weather is harsh and there are no jobs for highly educated people.
Sunset in Kazan
However I think that Russia has many opportunities. I’m more optimistic about this country that most of the Russians I speak with are. Please don’t consider this a serious analysis, I didn’t check numbers, I just happen to see many positive trends. During the last 20 years the people changed their communist mindset, nowadays people is young and very well educated. The country receives massive cheap labor immigration from the old USRR Central Asia republics. Those southern neighbors are unstable but the Russian government is strong, and the southern provinces are some of the wealthier in Russia.
The country is very well positioned to profit from the rise of China, first because it is a direct route to the European market and because Russia is absurdly rich on natural resources. The technology to harvest those resources is relatively cheap (It was much more expensive with old Soviet technology).
The negative trend is the motivation of the people. Russians don’t have a strong nationalistic sentiment and they don’t believe in Russia. The situation is totally different in America or China, where ‘The media machine’ makes sure the people is confident on the future. In Russia people are afraid of the government and don’t trust the Kremlin. It will take time for Russians to like their flag and to start paying their taxes. Will they only need time?
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