Natalia Suvorova

Associated Press

On this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 photo lathe operator Roman Ilyukhin fixes a brass bar in a machine-tool's spindle to make a microphone's part at a factory in Tula, Russia. In Tula, a city packed with the Russian defence industry, Californian musician David Brown and fan Pavel Bazdyrev have been making high-end microphones since 2014, taking advantage of cheap labor and second hand machinery from Kalashnikov arms plants. Ilyukhin, says his wage of 60,000 rubles ($1,000) is almost double what he used to earn elsewhere in the city.

Kalashnikov Machinery Used to Make Mics

It's a rare tale from Russia, which has struggled to diversify its economy beyond oil and gas, because 'they don't innovate.'

In this photo, the Vladimir Lenin monument stands at the Lenin Square in the center of Voronezh, Russia. Boasting several Soviet-era technology-focused universities, Voronezh serves as an outsourcing hub for many Russian and foreign companies.

Sinking Currency Facilitates Russian Tech

Russia's tech industry continues to grow as concerns over government-backed hackers are offset by access to cheap tech labor.