Troika has just announced the recruitment of three senior investment bankers who are set to start almost immediately.

They are: Igor Krol; Maxim Glushkov; and Alexei Litvintsev.

Igor, Maxim and Alexei all share important features. It’s worth taking note of these if you want to make it to the top in Russian investment banking.

1. They were all educated abroad

Igor holds a BEng from MIREA Technical University in Moscow and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Maxim went to Moscow Linguistic University and then studied an MBA at INSEAD.

Alexei attended Columbia University in New York.

2.  They have all worked for international banks

Igor joins from Citigroup, where he was a director in global banking covering Russia and CIS. Before Citigroup, he worked for Nestle.

Maxim joins from RBS where he was head of corporate finance for Russia. Before joining RBS, he worked for Merrill Lynch, SUEK (the Siberian Coal Energy Company) and Lazard.

Alexei joins from Credit Suisse. He’s also worked for UBS, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.

3.  They’ve all worked overseas

Igor and Maxim have both worked in London. Alexei has worked in London and in New York.

Refreshingly, all three men are Russian (unlike several of Troika’s other recent hires). Their decision to leave international banks in favour of Troika reflects the growing appeal of the big Russian players. Less promisingly, however, it doesn’t bode well if you’re a locally educated Russian banker who’s spent all your career working for a domestic bank in Moscow.