Russian Tech Industry Faces ‘Brain Drain’ as Workers Flee

“We don’t have sufficient high quality residences for extremely educated folks with excessive salaries and excessive requirements,” mentioned Aram Shahbandarian, a former Google worker based mostly in Yerevan who helps many Russians transfer to town. “Yerevan is cracking.”

Vahan Kerobyan, Armenia’s financial system minister, mentioned in an interview that as a rustic with a strategic relationship with Russia, it was not advertising and marketing itself as making an attempt to tug corporations out of Russia, however that if corporations determined to maneuver, it might work to accommodate them.

“The Armenian tech neighborhood is offering help to their Russian mates, and the federal government could be very a lot frightened about giving Russian corporations a pleasant place that’s not too costly the place they will work,” he mentioned. Mr. Kerobyan estimated that 43,000 folks had moved from Russia to Armenia, half of whom maintain Russian passports and half Armenian passports.

Miro, a U.S. software program firm, chartered flights to Yerevan for its Russian staff and moved them into two inns within the coronary heart of town, Mr. Kerobyan mentioned. X-tensive, a software program growth firm in Russia, has additionally moved its staff to the Armenian metropolis as a result of its main shopper, ServiceTitan, has an workplace there, he mentioned.

Miro has mentioned publicly that it was shifting its staff out of Russia. X-tensive didn’t reply to a request for remark.

Lots of these staff could ultimately transfer on to different locations as a result of visa restrictions require them to depart their present house after a sure variety of days. Many are not sure the place they may go. Others are planning strikes to up-and-coming tech hubs farther away, reminiscent of Dubai and Lisbon.

Artem Taganov, founder and chief govt of a Russian start-up known as HintEd, mentioned he knew about 70 founders of Russian corporations who, like him, had fled to Armenia. If entrepreneurs keep in Russia, he mentioned, their corporations can serve solely the native market.