Investors remain bullish about Russia's technology sector despite the perceived setback to democratic institutions with the government's recent arrest of an energy mogul on fraud and tax evasion charges

The positive assessment of the Russian economic landscape was evident at U.S.-Russian investment symposium last week. "The arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky has of course clouded investment perspectives," said Eugene Lawson, president, U.S.-Russia Business Council. "But I believe it is a bump in the road when you take into account Russia's past and the coming elections." While investment in oil and other natural resources continues to play a central role, panel sessions and the keynote address emphasized investment in other sectors such as telecommunications and information technology. Indeed, the conference theme, "Toward Diversification of the Russian Economy," sought to generate investment in Russia's technology infrastructure. "Sixty percent of Russian IT companies are from the private sector," said keynoter Leonid Reiman, Minister for Communications and IT. "This sector is growing at from 15 to 40 percent each year. There are even three Russian telecom companies on the New York Stock Exchange." Intel Capital invested in a Russian company for the first time this year. "We want to help make Russia more competitive globally. It's good for Russia, for us and the world," said Steve Chase, president of Intel Russia. According to industry estimates, penetration of the Russian PC market is 12 percent, less than 15 percent for Internet penetration and less than 25 percent for telephones. Intel, a sponsor of the symposium, wants to take advantage of Russia's highly educated professional workforce. It has some 400 software developers in Nijnyi Novgorod and Sarov who share their design work with Intel's labs in California, North Carolina and Israel. It has also placed computer equipment in the hands of some 20,000 Russian teachers.