Comment by tivert

>>> most Russian techies left

>> This was about them getting paid fat paychecks from western clients/employers not out of draft fears.

> Not a new phenom, whereas the draft is.

Russian techies started to leave immediately following the invasion that started in Feb 2022, because Western firms put in policies forbidding anyone in Russia from having access to their systems due to security concerns. If they were working for or contracting with those firms and stayed in Russia, they'd lose their jobs.

It looks like Putin first announced the draft in Sept. 21, 2022, but by then the techies working for or contracting with Western firms had already left or quit.