The question many in the global technology community have been asking recently is whether the Skolkovo Innograd Center outside Moscow can become the “Russian Silicon Valley” and serve as an "innovation engine" for the country’s economy. 

However, implicit in this question is an assumption that should be challenged: that the Silicon Valley model is the best way to fund a new generation of Russian Internet start-ups.  Could it be that this American-style model is incompatible with the nuances of Russian society and therefore not entirely suitable for Russia?