African Entrepreneurship Record

Although Kowell’s team received academic recognition from the senior management of Tomsk National Polytechnic University, the recruitment work was still not going smoothly, and time quickly turned to three days later.

Anka: ”Mr. Kowell, although Tomsk is just a city in the Far East, there is no doubt that those who can enroll in Tomsk are undoubtedly elites. Russia hasn’t implemented compulsory education, and their government previously backed out of relevant policies, virtually cutting off the upward mobility of the lower classes.”

”In my communications with colleagues, I’ve also learned of this situation. Tsarist Russia’s literacy rate is only twenty percent, and there are many hidden aspects. For instance, most of Russia’s primary education is inadequate, with five-year primary schools accounting for less than five percent, mostly being only three-year systems. The quality of education content is probably not even as good as in East Africa.”

It is self-evident how much water is in the twenty percent figure. Based on Tsarist Russia’s population, that’s at least over twenty million people who have received education. If that were true, Tsarist Russia wouldn’t be surpassed by East Africa in many fields.

”Previously, fifty percent of Tsarist Russian schools didn’t have their own educational facilities but instead used rented spaces or venues provided by religious institutions for educational activities. Theology was an essential subject in Tsarist Russian schools, which also took up a lot of educational resources.”

No country can escape religious issues, and this is also true in the education sector. East Africa is naturally the same, but theology education in East Africa can only be accessed at universities, and the enrollment is not large. Students have to comply with state arrangements and undergo state assessments. Compared to current Russia, East Africa is entirely a secular state.

”Moreover, the educational situation in some European territories has raised Russia’s overall education level, meaning the data in the Far East region is more inflated.”

Kowell nodded and said, ”We were mentally prepared before coming to Russia. I am not surprised at all by this result.”

Anka: ”However, just as we expected, Russia’s secondary and university education is not inferior to European schools at all. For instance, the local secondary schools and universities in Tomsk primarily enroll the ruling class or wealthy groups from Tomsk or the Siberian region. We only found seven students from what could be considered ordinary families at Tomsk University, of whom only one was truly from a farming family. The rest were from noble gentry families fallen on hard times or wealthy families on the decline.”

According to Soviet standards, the farming families Anka mentioned would be classified as wealthy farmers or self-cultivating farmers, definitely not peasant slaves.

A university having only single-digit ”lower class” educated people is unimaginable in East Africa. Although East Africa’s education level is like a mess due to funding issues, many from the middle class also have opportunities to enter universities, making up the majority of East African university students.

Kowell: ”That’s true, but we must admit that after the abolition of serfdom, Russia’s education sector has made progress. In the mid-nineteenth century, the number of educated people in Tsarist Russia probably wouldn’t reach one percent. Even if twenty percent includes a lot of water, it’s much better than decades ago. We also don’t have many literate immigrants from Alexander II era East Africa.”

Anka: ”Better than nothing. Currently, only three graduates have expressed interest in developing in East Africa. Their level isn’t bad, but they aren’t considered rare talents in East Africa.”

As mentioned before, Tomsk National Polytechnic University was established in 1896, and this year marks the graduation of its first batch of students.

”Many Russian university students don’t worry about job opportunities because their families aren’t significantly impacted by the economic crisis. Even among the seven previously mentioned students in less favorable circumstances, four don’t think developing in East Africa would be more beneficial for them. The remaining three are merely considering the idea, but are not certain.” Anka said, somewhat dejectedly.

Kowell replied helplessly, ”This is understandable. If East Africa were a European or American country, they might have already started packing their bags. However, East Africa doesn’t attract them as much. If we hadn’t come to Tomsk personally, they probably wouldn’t even consider East Africa.”

”This is where the significance of our work lies. We bridge the gap for European and American students to work in East Africa. Don’t be disheartened. If these three people from Tomsk National Polytechnic University have real talents, we can offer them conveniences, and Tomsk National Polytechnic University is just one university locally. On a conservative estimate, that means we can recruit at least five or six people here locally.”

”Imagine this: Tomsk is just a Far East city in Tsarist Russia without a developed economy. There are quite a few schools in Tsarist Russia more formidable than Tomsk National Polytechnic University. In each school, we can find a few candidates, accumulating potentially dozens. Add to this the talent in Russia’s industrial sector, and we’re talking about over a hundred people. In this light, this trip seems fairly practical.”

Kowell’s reassurance indeed had its effect. This was merely their first stop in Siberia, and Kowell’s team was just one small branch of the recruitment mission to Tsarist Russia.

Failing to achieve results in Tomsk doesn’t mean the same for the entire Siberian region, and certainly not for the more developed European regions.

After some self-consolation and motivation, the workgroup members began engaging with other schools or factories in Tomsk to find candidates.

As Kowell pointed out, Tomsk still holds good potential. By the end of 1900, Kowell’s team had facilitated thirteen individuals from Tomsk to go to East Africa, including engineering and medical students from Tomsk National Polytechnic University and Siberian State Medical University (also in Tomsk).

Beyond the student group, unemployed technical talents in Tomsk due to the economic crisis were also a significant gain for Kowell’s team.

After wrapping up their work in Tomsk, Kowell’s team didn’t stop. Their next stop was Novosibirsk. However, compared to Tomsk, the academic center of Siberia, Novosibirsk had only begun to rise due to the construction of the Siberian railway.

Therefore, the team stayed there for a very short time. Their next stop was also an important city in Russia: Yekaterinburg.

By the end of 1990, the East African Government had recruited fewer than thirty talents east of the Ural Mountains from Russia, temporarily draining the local talent pool that could be exploited.

This was a real blow to Russia’s already backward and underdeveloped Siberian region. Even without East Africa’s involvement, these people would most likely leave Siberia in the future for employment in Western Russia or other European and American countries. Without East African intervention, some of these individuals might even become among the forces overthrowing Russian rule in the future.

While East Africa captured nearly thirty individuals from the Siberian region, the more developed European part of Russia yielded even better results. In 1900 alone, through East Africa’s talent recruitment program, 224 Russians immigrated to East Africa, the majority being recent university graduates or technically skilled people unable to sustain themselves due to unemployment.

East Africa’s poaching from Russia has just begun. During Tsarist Russia’s economic crisis, East Africa’s recruitment efforts will continue. This means that, over the next two years, more high-quality Russian talents will flow into East Africa. As the saying goes, ”Only a hoe wielded skillfully can undermine the walls.”

And under the Russian economic crisis, East Africa’s talent recruitment plan is just an appetizer, while other European and American countries are the real feast.

Without a doubt, these talents will all contribute to the construction projects during East Africa’s First Five-Year Plan, adding bricks and tiles to perfecting East Africa’s industrial system and supporting other fields.