As Russia sees tech brain drain, other nations hope to gain

By LIUDAS DAPKUS
Associated Press

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Russian technology workers are fleeing the country by the tens of thousands as the economy goes into a tailspin under pressure from international sanctions. For some countries, Russia’s loss is seen as their potential gain. An elite pool of high-tech exiles furnished with European Union visas has relocated to Poland or the Baltic nations of Latvia and Lithuania. A larger contingent has gone to Armenia, Georgia and former Soviet republics in Central Asia where Russians do not need visas. As soon as the war started in Ukraine, Uzbekistan radically streamlined the process for information technology specialists to obtain work visas and residence permits. Russia is scrambling to stem the brain drain with generous tax incentives.