Russia not the same as ten years ago Doing business in Russia is not straightforward but Russia wants to start afresh and create its won Silicon Valley just outside Moscow. The Skolkovo project hub is a multi-billion dollar government backed initiative to help wean Russia off its reliance on oil and gas. It is in the UK on a roadshow talking to companies and universities, headed by the billionaire oligarch Viktor Vekselberg who was appointed by the Kremlin. He told the Today programme's Simon Jack that he hoped this was a move "in the right direction" for Russia after acknowledging the country's difficulties in the past. He maintained that this project could offer a lot to British businesses after they spent time visiting Oxford, Cambridge Universities and the Imperial College.