Correct + part of the reason Russia is so fucked up is extreme elitism and a massive gap between the provinces and the 2 gigacities. It's like if NYC and London were dropped in the middle of Kazakhstan, and both groups were raised to hate each other.
That just isn't true in the context of higher education which is what's discussed here. You can still get free higher education in the best universities in Russia regardless of where you were born and raised in the country. There are a lot of problems in Russia and the system of education in Russia, but extreme elitism and exclusivity are not at the top of the list
Also not true in tech. Can't really say anything about other professions, but if you can code you won't have any problems finding a job in Russia. Again, regardless of where in the country you were born
