The country’s high-skilled workers are leaving en masse
Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there has been much talk about Russian brain drain — that is, educated professionals fleeing the country. While the total number of emigrants is unknown, it may be as high as 900,000.
People have fled Russia for a number of reasons: to find work, to escape political persecution and to evade the “partial mobilisation” announced last September. According to a survey of 2,000 migrants carried out in March and April, 81% had a university degree — compared to just 27% in the population at large. Russian brain drain is real.
