Tense Jokes For Russian Techies In Silicon Valley

The many Russian immigrant entrepreneurs and techies in Silicon Valley are getting a mixed message these days. Investors, colleagues, and social acquaintances often regard them with some mixture of wariness and awe at their presumed skill. It typically takes the form of a joke, but as one Russian says, getting referred to as a “hacker” isn’t so funny when you hear it ten times a day. Another recalls that when he was introduced at a conference, the host joked that he invited him because he wanted to “collude with Russians.” Bottom line, however, appears to be that interest in hiring Russians is on the increase. “Russian immigrants helped build the last generation of Silicon Valley behemoths,” this New York Times article recalls. “The Google co-founder Sergey Brin and the early Facebook investor Yuri Milner are both Russian-born.”