Most of Russian population insists they want nothing to do with Europe or European values - all of them. Does landmass outweighs their opinion for you?

I must've missed that referendum you are quoting here?

> Most of Russian population insists they want nothing to do with Europe or European values

That's irrelevant.

We're talking about continents, not political and cultural leanings.

> Does landmass outweighs their opinion for you

Yes. Continental boundaries are well defined.

It's pointless to talk about comparing salaries in Europe unless there's some market continuity and no significant barriers for workforce. Absolutely not the case with Russia vs Europe, relocation at will without preexisting employment guarantee/sponsorship is not possible.

If you want to stick to the continent though, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine and Turkey should be there as well. Belarus and Ukraine in particular have IT/developer markets of same magnitude as Russia.