The Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, has recently announced that Russia will build a high-tech hub near Moscow as a step to modernise the economy and reduce its dependence on oil and gas. The project aims to give state backing to major companies to help them develop selected innovative products.

In the centre will be developed five priority sectors – energy, IT, telecommunications, bio-medical and atomic technologies – and will be built near Skolkovo, a town located just west of the Moscow Ring Road, and home to the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo, a premier business school in Russia.

The Russian government seems quite focused on developing a strong technology industry in Russia and reduce the gap with the other developed countries. Also, for Russia is important to retain its scientists and develop global high tech corporates. Already last year the government also announced that by 2010 several technoparks will be build near Moscow, St.Petersbourg, Tumen, Nizhniy Novgorod, Kaluga, Novosibirsk and in Tatarstan. Some of those projects have been already launched, like technopark in Petergoff (St.Petersbourg region) and foreign investors such as Boeing are very interested in this project.