Russia has enormous human intellectual potential based on its science-oriented education system and a well established network of scientific and research institutes in such metropolitan centers as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Zelenograd spawning numerous software, ICT and engineering companies

• Russian IT and engineering industry consists of highly educated engineers, scientists, physicists, and mathematicians capable of performing high quality, high complexity software development
• High level of professionalism of Russian scientists can be demonstrated by the fact that Russian scientists produced more technical articles in 1995-1998 than Italy and Spain, almost as many as France and Canada and more than China and India combined together
• Russia is the only country that is consistently among top three countries on all five categories of advanced degree graduates:
• Engineers
• Natural Scientists
• Social Scientists
• Doctoral degrees graduates
• Significant difference in costs of highly educated professionals presents large opportunities for cost arbitrage between Russia and US
• Computer and math science are the sources of the largest arbitrage opportunities

Source: IDC