I'm curious to hear more. Are you a Russian national? If not, how is living and working in Russia as a non-citizen? Is corruption not as much of a concern in that part of the country?
I'm a US citizen who's partner is a dual US Russian citizen (and I'm eventually considering becoming a Russian citizen via marriage). Right now I'm on a 3-year business visa, which is pretty straight forward to obtain.
Western media depicts Russia in a much more negative light than how things are actually on the ground. So far I've experienced zero crime and very little antisocial behavior. Russian people are well behaved (the vodka swigging stereotype is greatly exaggerated; we also have great local craft beer and wine) but some are still holding on to some quirky Soviet behaviors that might seem rude to a Westerner. Also, the streets are cleaner than most large US cities and public spaces are nice.
Yes, there are political and curruption problems, but they haven't directly affected me. I'm working for a US company so I can't speak for what it's like working for a Russian company. Prices are generally 40% lower and you can buy nearly anything except good Mexican food (but we have amazing Georgian food). Also, where we are, the climate is similar to the Bay Area (it's a wine region) and the Black Sea coast is beautiful. Overall, my quality of life here is very high VS the US.
