Siberia could be the next Silicon Valley

SIBERIA, ONCE once a place where people who disagreed with Stalin were sent to work themselves to death, is touting itself as the next Silicon Valley.

Akademgorodok has one of the toughest marketing jobs of any in the world as it vies for technology companies to set up shop.

For a start, in Winter it is literally hell frozen over. Secondly the idea of being sent to Siberia has the implications that you have been sent somewhere to die because you are in trouble.

However according to CNN Money, just down the road is Akademgorodok is where Russian high tech booms.

Dubbed Silicon Forest, the place is starting to grow at 15 per cent a year. OK it has not done much on the global sphere, so far all it can claim is that a local IT firm is producing a Web portal for Oprah Winfrey. Intel is apparently interested in doing more in the region.

However there is a great deal of optimism. President Vladimir Putin has also taken note, backing the construction of a $650 million technology business district with $100 million in state funding for infrastructure.

Russia has almost as many science and technology graduates as India and is a much smaller population. The story quotes Steve Chase, president of Intel Russia as saying that if you have something tough, give it to the Americans. If you have something difficult, give it to the Indians. If you have something impossible, give it to the Russians. µ