Another great leap forward?
Modernisation is hard to argue with. But it may not be what Russia needs
IMAGINE a town or settlement of 30,000 people, probably near Moscow. Its high-tech laboratories and ultra-modern glass houses make California's Palo Alto look ancient. It has a greater concentration of scientists than anywhere else in the world. The atmosphere in the town is free, cosmopolitan and creative, almost anarchic at times. Police harassment is minimal, “at least to start with”. Riff-raff and drunks from surrounding villages are kept away by tight security.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "Another great leap forward?"
Briefing March 13th 2010
From the March 13th 2010 edition
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