There must be some pretty great quants in Moscow, right ?

Not at all. Becouse the derivatives market has been started just recently.

I've heard of quant work being outsourced/done under contract in russia because you've got smart guys who will work for a fraction of the cost in the west, but as ronwise says the local market as opposed to outsourced work is fairly new

People from MSU are doing work for former colleagues who are now in the U.S.. Some of this work has been going on for more than a decade.

Has anybody got any names/contacts/pointers? I might have some work to outsource...

I am sure that the demand for quants in Russia will increase in 3-5 years. At the moment the russian stock market is very unstable and significantly depend on the political situation. That means all traditional financial models would not work there.. But the fact is that banks in Russia do hire people with mathematical background - to work as traders (shares, bonds, bills of exchange (including some complicated stuff like REPO), FOREX, money market) or to do some financial stuff such as credit management, financial analysis, credit card business and so on. They havent yet got to a point where quants could significantly contribute to banks profit and it is very difficult to explain it to banks people why it is really cool to use maths to do pricing.... They just dont understand why they should pay you a salary...

Hope this helps:A place for quant jobs in Moscow, Russia?

I'm not sure it's true, but anyway:Equity derivatives structurer, Moscow: How much am I worth?

I would not trust to what was written in the article. Unfortunately, i used to know personally persons mentioned in the article....

QuoteOriginally posted by: TraderJoeThere must be some pretty great quants in Moscow, right ?If someone is really interested in a job over there i may be able to help...

Probably the biggest and most immediate opportunity for Russian or other eastern europeans, is to consult for firms in the U.S., London, etc.. However as with all consulting you have to have management and/or individuals who are willing to take the time to 'supervise' at whatever level is needed---i.e. tell them enough to do the math but not know how/where it will be used, tell them everything and work very closely, etc.---and trust the consultants [easiest if you have known/worked with them for years]. The case I know, the people all worked together for years in Moscow before one came to the U.S. and was very successful. Of course making contacts is the big item for all work.