Brain Drain: history and present

In the era of globalization that we live in, one of the negative consequences of the “world flattening” is the high skilled migration. This is particularly true about Russia who experienced a major brain drain in 1991 – ever since the Iron Curtain has been lifted. It is argued the ‘91 vast emigration wave, in particular that of scientists and engineers, has undermined Russian science and learning base. While this may be a bold statement, the consequences of continuing brain drain are reflected in the current state of Russia's scientific reserch, technology and higher education sectors.

While the soviet system had a number of crucial flaws, it has built a very strong foundation in the major fields of science. Lenin made the development and advancement of science and technology was made a national priority. He tied it closely to the ideology and well-being of the Soviet state rewarding significant achievements. The core institution was the Academy of Sciences, which specialized in natural sciences. However, most of the research activity was outsourced to so-called NIIs, Russian acronym for specialized scientific research institutions. Studies related to weapon systems were conducted in secret facilities, and scientists who participated in them were prohibited from disclosing any information related to their job even to their family members. Hence, military intelligence, natural sciences and technology prospered during the soviet times.

Among the Nobel-winning scientists were Pavel Cherenkov (physics, 1958), Nikolai Semenov (chemistry, 1956), Nikolay Basov and Aleksandr Prokhorov (physics, 1964) to name a few. The only flaw was the lack of practical implementation of that great knowledge as the scientific studies were mostly theoretical. The same is true about education. Science was emphasized at every level, but the interpretation and analysis fell short. What I must admit is that under the communist regime everyone had equal opportunities of learning and talents were recognized although excess initiative was suppressed. Innovative ideas that “threatened the state” were suppressed too, even though science was less policed than any other field. It may be useful to think of the Soviet Union as a “state in self-denial” that paints a perfect picture with functioning economy and happy people to both its citizens and the outside world, while the system is on the edge of collapsing.

The proof of that is the 1991 highly skilled emigration wave. With the first chance for escape, scientists and scholars who had enough resources took their families and left the beloved state for good. Who is to blame them? The average monthly wage of a Russian scientist was around $100 at that time, while in the West they could earn $3-7,000 a month. With no more free social benefits provided by the soviet system, it was impossible to live even single. What about supporting a family? Those who stayed were forced to find alternative sources of income or abandon their profession all together. Their intellectual work did not pay off; not because the newly formed Russian Federation failed to recognize the importance of scientific learning but simply because the country was faced with myriad of other problems and could not allocate sufficient funds to raise wages. According to the Russian trade union official, more than half a million scientists and computer engineers left the country between 1991 and 2001.Most of them found well-paid jobs in the Western Europe, United States and Japan. For instance, BBC reported that in 2002 Russian-speaking programmers in the USA were responsible for developing 30% of Microsoft products.

Among those 500,000-800,000 were not only scientists but also college faculty members. Doctors and professors have abandoned motherland to share their knowledge with Western world for the same reason as researchers and scientist did. College faculty wages remain laughable till the present day. Therefore, it takes a lot of patriotism and a true passion about one’s field of study to go into science.

Analogy

Another category of the human recourses lost are those Russian scientists and scholars who were sent to work on joint research or other programs abroad and never returned. This is also perfectly understandable in the context of “state in self-denial” that did not give its citizens a chance to look outside the Iron Curtain and compare their lifestyles and wages to those of foreign counterparts. It reminds me of a child who is told by his mother not to eat a candy hidden in the cupboard. While a mother watches him his desire to reach that cupboard and taste the candy augments. Once she is gone there is no doubt that a kid will eat it.

How significant was the impact of the emigration wave started in '91 on the Russia’s intellectual R&D potential is the question that no one can answer. More important are the recent trends. International migration statistics show that the number or Russian emigrants steadily declines since 1997. Departures from the Russian Federation totaled 54,061 in 2006 from 69,798 in 2005 and a tree-digit number in 1977. It can largely be attributed to economic stability and improved living standards in modern Russia. In addition, an increased number of upper middle class and wealthy people each year send their children to foreign institutions (predominantly in the UK and the USA) as they realize the need for more specialized practical learning and language skills. My own high school and college experiences epitomize this trend. People like me, who have fortunate families in Russia will most likely not contribute to the emigration statistics. As idealistic as it sounds, I really do think that in the light of significant decline of human capital in the past, Russia’s future depends on motivated well-educated young people who are willing to dedicate themselves to its improvement.