Hundreds of thousands of high-level workers from Russia have fled their homeland after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on the 10th (local time).
According to reports, Russian non-profit organization OK Russians estimated that 300,000 people had left Russia after Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February.
They mainly went to Georgia, Armenia and Turkey as workers in information technology (IT), science, finance, and healthcare, the WSJ reported.
Earlier, the Russian National Statistical Office estimated that 500,000 people left Russia in 2020.
The problem is that these people are the key to driving the Russian economy.
An official from the International Finance Association (IIF) said, “Those who have left or are planning to leave Russia are a young generation with a high level of education,” adding, “The most productive workforce is disappearing.”
In fact, as of the end of last month, 50,000 to 70,000 people had already left their home country in the IT industry, which has recently emerged in Russia, and an additional 100,000 are expected to leave during this month.
In particular, it was found that some of them either relocated their businesses or left the country with colleagues.
Sasha Kazilo, who co-developed an app to study math for kindergarteners, recently left Russia with her family for Paris, and plans to relocate the business, including about 15 app developers.
He told the WSJ that her husband’s 13-day detention for protesting against the war had a decisive effect on her departure.
“It was all a nightmare, and we had to wake up,” he said.
Andrei Panov, who served as vice president of the Russian state-owned airline Ayeroflot, resigned and left Russia ten days after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“I decided it was impossible to work for a state-owned company,” he said, who lives in Israel.
In addition, at Yandex, a Russian IT company, CEO Elena Bunina resigned early two weeks before the expiration of her term, and posted an internal message saying, “I cannot live in a country at war with my neighbors.”
Dozens of Yandex employees, including programmers, have also left Russia, sources said.
Already, a dark cloud has been cast over the Russian economy due to Western sanctions.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) forecasts that Russia’s economy will contract by 10% this year.
It may be the first time that an exodus of this magnitude has occurred in Russia since the communist revolution of 1917, when millions of people, including the middle class and high-educated people, left Russia, academics analyzed.
“The first exodus occurred in just a few weeks,” said Konstantin Sonin, a professor at the University of Chicago.
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