For tech hub in Russia's rustbelt, recession's a godsend

At the airy, well-lit office he shares with friends in a newly built block in the thriving provincial tech hub of Voronezh, Khorpyakov recalls his last workspace was "in a basement, with noisy sewer pipes all around," before their earning power allowed them to aim higher.

Khorpyakov and his friends are part of an unlikely tech revolution in Voronezh, a former Soviet industrial town where startups and online contract work are proving the only source of good jobs and escape from economic decline.

[...] the crisis has turned out to be the tech sector's biggest fortune.

Even as officials in the United States and Europe warn about the threat posed by government-backed Russian hackers, tech workers in Voronezh say security concerns don't affect their international business relationships.

First he worked for DataArt, a Russian software company with more than 800 employees in Voronezh.

According to TAdviser, an analytics company, software and IT services exports from Russia have been steadily growing since 2010 and hit $7 billion in 2015.

Other startup founders head to countries like Germany or the U.S. due to worries that Russia's legal system doesn't offer enough protection from predatory officials and investors seeking to seize control of small firms.