Headline July 06, 2018/ ''' *RUMMAGING SILICON *RUSSIANS* "'

''' *RUMMAGING SILICON 

*RUSSIANS* "'

Prime Minister Medvedev meeting with Russian expats working in Silicon Valley

THE RUSSIANS MAYBE TARGETS  of suspicion in Silicone Valley, but tell Ya one thing and a fact for sure : they're in very great demand, too. Russians can think mathematics.

Pvael Cherkashin, a Russian investor based in San Francisco, thought he had the perfect name for a  Catholic Church that he is spending $11.5 million converting into a tech palace. It would be called  *Hack Temple*.

But that was before the nearly daily deluge of news about Russian efforts to influence the 2016 American presidential election by  hacking computers using Facebook and Twitter to spread inflammatory messages and sow division.

"We had so many concerns from our investors saying that would be inappropriate and we should change it,"said Mr. Cherkshin, 44, who planned to officially open Hack Temple this fall.

"A couple of Russian guys opening a Hacker Temple in the middle of San Francisco at a time when Russian hackers are considered the most evil in the world. They say you can't."

With news of  hacking  and influence campaigns escalating all year, the Russian immigrant community of Silicone Valley, which numbers in the tens of thousands, is in a strange new position.

Some Russian venture capitalists said start-ups were more wary about taking their funding, while several Russians born engineers said they were being treated differently socially and in their companies.

Lawyers said some tech firms were installing tighter security measures restricting what data foreigners coders can see,

At the same time, many said that Russia gained reputation for its hackers, interest in hiring its tech talent was increasing.

The tension is new. Russian immigrants helped build the last generation of Silcone Valley behemoths : The Google co-founder Sergey Brin and the early  Facebook investor Yuri Milner are both Russian-born.

Now when Mr. Cherkashin, a partner in GVA Capital, which is investing $120 million in start-ups, pitches a companies on why they should take investments from him, he gets skeptical questions as soon as they hear his accent, he said.

''It feels like if you're a politician and you fell into sex scandal, and every body knows you for this, and every time someone recognizes you they have this smile on their face. 'So how's your personal life doing?' said Mr. Cherkashin, whose form was incorporated in the United States.

''This is how I feel every time I meet with an investor and they hear my Russian accent,'' he added. "They have this smile on their face."

Prospective partners and start-ups invariably ask the same question, Mr. Cherkashan said : Is his money clean?

''This question comes up two or three times a day,'' he said. ''I don't think people would ask this question to a manager from another region."

Julian Zegelman, an entrepreneur and a lawyer who represents and invests in Russian-speaking founders, said potential local tech partners they would accidentally get into business with the  Russian government.

"They don't want to be invested or dealing with companies whose technical talent is captive to Russia,'' he said.

Mr. Zegelman said he had noticed that some cybersecurity firms, big tech companies, government customers and large venture capitals firms were the most wary about working with new Russian immigrants. Yet some start-ups and small investment firms are more interested in Russian talent now.

The Honor and Serving of the latest Global Operational Research on Technology, Markets and the Future continues. The World Students Society thanks author and researcher Nellie Bowles.

With respectful dedication to the Technologists, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all ''register'' on : wssciw.blogspot.com - The World Students Society, for every subject in the world, and Twitter-!E-WOW! - the Ecosystem 2011:

''' PALL & MALL '''

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