Vadim is 25, Yan 22. These two young programmers are Russian, but their language, the code, is universal… Leaving their country, they had been thinking about it for a long time, so when it invaded Ukraine, “frankly, it was too much“: they decided to leave and took a plane to Istanbul.
Air links are not cut with Turkey, which is accessible to them without a visa. On the banks of the Bosphorus, its economic and cultural capital has become one of the refuges of Russians opposed to the war. Here they find freedom. And also a future, compromised in their country because of international sanctions.
“I’ve wanted to leave for a long time, but not in these conditions, not without a possible return.”
Vadim, a 25-year-old programmer who lived in St. Petersburgto “Special Envoy”
Shortly after February 24, 2022, the date of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the salaries of Yan and Vadim were reduced from 2,500 to 2,000 euros. Prices exploded, and the software they worked with became inaccessible. Also, like them, many Russian developers or programmers fled their country in the weeks following the start of the war. “It’s a whole sector that is leaving”, confirms Yan, convinced that “all IT professions will leave the country”.
A veritable “brain drain”, which the authorities were moved by… Prime Minister Mikhail Michoustine even split a video where he tries to convince computer engineers to stay in Russia. Not enough to make our two programmers change their minds… “on the contrary !”. They tell themselves that if they came home today, they could “never leave the country again”.
Excerpt from “These Russians fleeing Putin”, a report to see in “Special Envoy” on May 12, 2022.
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