The BBC reports that Russia is suffering from a wave of emigration among middle-class professionals in a story dated 2 October under the heading “Russia brain drain after Putin crackdown”. The facts tell a different story.
As a skeptic of what the BBC writes about Russia and since human resources is one of my areas of expertise, I decided to check the facts. And it turned out just as I had expected. It is the BBC’s editorial team not Russia that seems to be suffering from a brain drain, nay, a hemorrhage. The facts just do not back up the story and rather prove that the opposite is true.
Although the once venerable BBC likens the – supposed – wave of emigration to the mass exodus that followed the 1917 October Revolution and the tragic years of the 1990s that followed the Soviet Union’s fall, the fact is that very few are now leaving. In fact the shocking truth is that actually more people are moving to Russia than leaving it.
The BBC refers the supposed problem back to Vladimir Putin's re-election as president in March 2012, which they allege led to a “crackdown on the liberal opposition and independent media.” So, let’s look back at the figures starting from 2012. (Source Russian Statistics Agency, Rosstat).
It turns out that in year 2012, 417,681 people moved to Russia and 122,751 emigrated from Russia, the net influx being almost 300,000 people. You can hardly call that a “wave of emigration”.
Complete story at - Russian news: Brain Drain From Russia? The BBC Gets It Wrong. (As Usual) - Russia Insider
As a skeptic of what the BBC writes about Russia and since human resources is one of my areas of expertise, I decided to check the facts. And it turned out just as I had expected. It is the BBC’s editorial team not Russia that seems to be suffering from a brain drain, nay, a hemorrhage. The facts just do not back up the story and rather prove that the opposite is true.
Although the once venerable BBC likens the – supposed – wave of emigration to the mass exodus that followed the 1917 October Revolution and the tragic years of the 1990s that followed the Soviet Union’s fall, the fact is that very few are now leaving. In fact the shocking truth is that actually more people are moving to Russia than leaving it.
The BBC refers the supposed problem back to Vladimir Putin's re-election as president in March 2012, which they allege led to a “crackdown on the liberal opposition and independent media.” So, let’s look back at the figures starting from 2012. (Source Russian Statistics Agency, Rosstat).
It turns out that in year 2012, 417,681 people moved to Russia and 122,751 emigrated from Russia, the net influx being almost 300,000 people. You can hardly call that a “wave of emigration”.
Complete story at - Russian news: Brain Drain From Russia? The BBC Gets It Wrong. (As Usual) - Russia Insider
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments subject to moderation.