I wonder if general wider availability of computers means there were more chances a bright kid would be able to get a start in the field regardless of overall education systems.

▲

spwa4 3 hours ago | parent [-]

I think you mean it was the Soviet Union. Either you scored excellently and were sent to university or at least into engineering, to end up well-paid and comfortable in military research or you scored less than and worked on the fields ... Or were sent into war as cannon fodder.

Or to put it more generally: motivation.

	▲	harvey9 an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I was thinking years ago a western kid in a school that didn't ask much of them still had more chance of getting access to a computer and teaching themselves. But yes, the incentive for Russia kids to study is much more stark.