As somebody living under another strongman not far from Russia, I second that. Anybody with half a brain here wants to emigrate (and mostly not for economic rea

As somebody living under another strongman not far from Russia, I second that. Anybody with half a brain here wants to emigrate (and mostly not for economic reasons, but for political/social ones, and to get a chance to make something of yourself), but it's been close to impossible for at least 20 years unless you have millions in the bank (which an honest person is unlikely to have), or manage to win a green card lottery (which several of my acquaintances have done, but it's pure luck). Pretty weird to read all these articles about shortages of IT professionals, and compare that to the immigration barriers your governments have put. Although I guess your typical HN visitor probably wouldn't be very interested in influx of cheap labor that will bring down his salary to sane levels.