Academic city's return to Soviet glory?

By Sahibzada Zaheen Iqbal

IT was once one of the most prestigious places to live in the whole Soviet Union, with good salaries, an idyllic waterfront and away from the prying eyes of the secret services. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Akademgorodok -- a highbrow town outside Siberia's main city of Novosibirsk, created in the 1950s for academics to live and work. 


But now Akademgorodok, which means 'little academic town' in Russian, is hoping to stage a remarkable turn of fortunes by becoming a centre for Kremlin-backed efforts to spearhead the rebirth of innovation in Russia.Sitting amid pine woods on the edge of the man-made Ob reservoir, it now hosts a number of high-tech start-ups and earned the nickname "Silicon Forest".


The town was hit hard by the collapse of the Soviet Union which caused funds to dry up and sparked an inevitable brain drain, with the best minds heading abroad. But now, according to Fomin, things are picking up.They survived back due to to help from foreign academics. They gave them grants, they signed contracts with them and joined them up with various programs," They learned how to work effectively, to have responsibilities and after a few years a "new demand for scientific research" became evident in Russia as the country started to enjoy economic growth.


The Russian authorities -- belatedly seeing the need to modernise to catch up with Western and Asian economies -- started to cautiously improve financing and give Akademgorodok the chance of a new lease of life.Seeking to wean the economy off its dependence on oil exports, the Russian authorities have sought to refocus on innovation and technology that lay forgotten in the chaos and cynicism after the Soviet collapse.


The town now hosts high-tech start-ups like globally successful games producer Alawar Entertainment."Before, students did their studies and, once they got their degrees, they left for the West. Now many are staying here as the salaries in the universities are getting better and they are given accommodation."Marking out his words, several new buildings are being constructed in the city.

However the sense of relative optimism in Akademgorodok is not necessarily felt across Russia, with the brain drain estimated at levels up to 20 percent in areas like biology.Here, the situation is considerably better than elsewhere in Russia. The most important thing is that a positive dynamic is retained.

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