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> Does anyone know why JetBrains, which seems to very much be a Russian company, has their head office in Prague? I've long assumed it was for marketing and bu
by stevoski 13y ago
> Does anyone know why JetBrains, which seems to very much be a Russian company, has their head office in Prague?
I've long assumed it was for marketing and business reasons. So many of us in the west automatically are suspicious of dealing with a Russian company, especially when it comes to handing over credit card information. A prejudice for sure.
The Czech Republic, however, is close enough to Russia, with a closely related language, with good travel connections to Russia, is more integrated with the west, especially since 2004 when it joined the EU, suffers less from the prejudice we often hold towards Russia, but still has a low cost of living relative to, say, Germany, UK, or - God forbid - Silicon Valley.
Oh, and when you tell staff, "Hey, we need you to make a trip to Prague to visit the Czech office", very few of them are disappointed...
- oddx 13y agoYou are right mostly, here the full story (in Russian) http://www.xakep.ru/post/60338/ http://www.xakep.ru/post/60338/. In short: 90% of employes (including founders) in JetBrains are Russians, and founders moved to Prague in 1999 because of economic reasons. Headquaters remains in Prague mostly because of it was founded here and, probably, because of reasons you are mentioned.
- optymizer 13y agoGlad to see xakep.ru is still around.