The road to the planned Skolkovo research hub, dubbed Russia's answer to Silicon Valley, was opened on Saturday. Skolkovo is being built from scratch 20 km outside of Moscow. Research at the center will focus on five priority spheres: energy, information technologies, communication, biomedical research and nuclear technologies. Russia considers the development of the high-tech and innovation sector a top priority, pledging billions of U.S. dollars to finance the sphere.
The opening ceremony of the road leading to the future research hub was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov. The innovation centre will have its own police department, tax and customs services and patent authority. For now though, the road will connect the Skolkovo business school, due to open on September 1, with Moscow. Shuvalov said the government had fulfilled all its obligations concerning the school, and that now it was up to the business community to make it the “best business school in the world.”
