Putin Called For Attracting Russian And Foreign Scientists To The Far East

Meanwhile, the Russian scientific community continues to face a shortage of personnel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to develop a special program to encourage scientists to relocate to the Far East. He issued this directive during a session of the Eastern Economic Forum, according to The Moscow Times.

“It is important to create conditions to attract both Russian specialists and foreign scientists and engineers—our friends—to research centers and universities in the Far East, including providing housing, transportation, and support for family members,” Putin said.

In his view, the Far East and the Arctic should become a space for “bold engineering ideas, where the time from the conception of an idea to its practical implementation is minimized.” He cited the Innovative Scientific and Technical Center on Russky Island as an example.

Putin also announced that, starting January 1, 2027, a special legal regime will take effect in the Far East to facilitate the rapid adoption of new technologies, including drones, industrial robots, and artificial intelligence. According to the president, the region should become a testing ground for innovative solutions.

Meanwhile, Russian science continues to face a shortage of personnel. According to Rosstat, as of early 2025, there were 350,900 researchers in Russia—about two-thirds fewer than in the early 1990s, when there were about one million. The number of Doctor of Science degree holders has decreased by 22% over the past ten years, to 21,700, while the number of Candidate of Science degree holders has fallen by 19%, to 67,800. The war with Ukraine has accelerated the “brain drain” from Russian universities and research institutions. According to estimates by Andrey Lovakov of the German Center for Higher Education and Science Research, Russia lost about 0.8% of its active Scopus-indexed researchers annually between 2022 and 2024. The rate of scientists leaving the country has accelerated more than fourfold and has reached levels unprecedented since 2000. The greatest losses were suffered by the fields of physics, astronomy, computer science, and mathematics. Most Russian scientists who left the country moved to Germany, the United States, and Switzerland.

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