A recent VTsIOM survey indicates that Skolkovo, the high-tech research facility planned to be built outside of Moscow, is currently the key element associated with President Dmitry Medvedev's innovation program; but the new roads leading to the hub are reportedly already in poor shape.
Forty-four percent of Russians believe that Skolkovo is key to the president's innovation program, but only 2.6 percent of those surveyed consider it an analogue to Silicon Valley.
Thirty-five percent of respondents believe that, in a few years, Russia will be able to compete with the California hub in the number of scientific developments.
Medvedev's team has not yet done enough to establish Skolkovo as a brand in Russia, as only 32 percent of Russians have a clear opinion of it, while about 12 percent are aware of its existence, but uncertain of the details.
Those who know what Skolkovo is place its importance among developments in Russia in the 21st century fairly high. It is rated third after the 2014 Olympic Games and the 2018 World Cup, both of which Russia will host.
While the attitude toward Skolkovo seems generally positive, most Russians (56 percent) know nothing of the center, and many problems connected with it remain unaddressed.
One of those problems is the 5.4-kilometer road to the hub, which took 5.75 billion rubles ($204 million) and just under a year to finish. It is already in poor condition, according to reports in the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
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