Head of Crimea wants to create Silicon Valley on the peninsula
Crimean authorities believe that it possible to create an IT technology hub, similar to Silicon Valley in the American state of California, on the peninsula, as stated by the head of the republic, Sergey Aksyonov, TASS reports.
Aksyonov noted that authorities in the region want "people” who will be engaged in the development of IT technologies “to come" to the Crimea. "We thought about creating a center here similar to Silicon Valley, and we are thinking about how this can be accomplished," the head of the region explained.
He added that there are "good programmers in the Crimea" who "have left Ukraine" and "want to work safely." According to Aksyonov, the Crimean authorities are trying to form a team of IT specialists to create conditions and a platform for them.
In April, the head of Crimea stated that the regional authorities considered setting up an offshore zone on the peninsula. A so-called Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has been in operation in the Crimea since 2015. Its residents are exempt from paying federal corporate income taxes, and instead pay a state profit tax at a reduced rate. 883 organizations are listed in the Unified Register of SEZ participants.
The internationally recognized Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation in March of 2014 in the wake of the Ukrainian revolution. The Kremlin has faced international condemnation for its annexation of the Peninsula, leading many western countries to impose economic sanctions against Russia. In the United Nations, only Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria recognize Crimea as a legitimate federal subject of Russia.