Question Author
Another aside, on unemployment in Putin's Russia;
'Kremlin statistical creativity extends far beyond methodological recalculations. Take the artificially low official unemployment rate, for example, which has supposedly decreased since the invasion began to record low levels, reflecting the strongest economy ever, in the words of one Putin lackey.
In actuality, the Kremlin resorts to a veritable menagerie of dirty tricks to press the unemployment count down, including pressuring companies to send employees on “mandatory unpaid vacations” of infinite duration in lieu of layoffs and excluding recently laid-off workers under the guise of “temporary downtime”.
Furthermore, the unemployment rate does not even include the hundreds of thousands of skilled workers who have left Russia altogether.
The Kremlin would never admit to any exodus, but using Eastern European and Central Asian sources such as local newspapers, we estimate that no less than 500,000 technical workers have fled Russia, with as many flocking to newfound IT hubs in Finland, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. More talent exodus is coming as these neighbouring states continue to pick Putin’s pockets from the borders.'
The Telegraph today