> Usually, in Moscow, there is a strong correlation between being a highly educated, well-paid IT professional and having a negative opinion about current Russian regime
Do you have sources for this? Well-paid professional might not care about politics at all or might be OK with current regime because it doesn't interfere with their life. Furthermore, some of them might be even proud for occupying Crimea.
But I can agree that there is relatively high percent of anti-Putin people in Moscow.
My own experience, mostly. It doesn't include any government-owned enterprises or oil companies, of course — but in IT, the correlation is staggering. From all my peers, I hardly know a single IT professional with a salary over $60k (usually a team lead level or above) that wouldn't be in opposition to the current regime. Of course, about half of such people I knew a couple years back have already moved out of the country.
Do you have sources for this? Well-paid professional might not care about politics at all or might be OK with current regime because it doesn't interfere with their life. Furthermore, some of them might be even proud for occupying Crimea.
But I can agree that there is relatively high percent of anti-Putin people in Moscow.