This article describes the particularities of young talent management (TM) in Russia and explains them through a context‐specific analysis. It adopts a multilevel perspective that acknowledges the relevance of context at three levels: the macro environment, the organizational, and the individual. Data were gathered through 46 interviews with HR managers and young talents from six Russian companies and six Russian subsidiaries of foreign multinational companies (MNCs) active in a variety of industries. Following the contextualization approach, this study offers important insights into the interplay between macro, organizational, and individual factors as well as their isolated or interrelated effects on TM. While multilevel contextualization provides the rationale behind certain TM practices and the particular focus on young talents in Russia, it also explains why Russian companies are inspired by global best TM practices. Thus, contextualization allows for explaining the coexistence of a specific environment and nonspecific (global best) TM practices. Important particularities are revealed also when compared to the results of TM studies in other emerging countries. The article contributes not only to the TM discussion, but also to the wider field of international human resource management and the international management literature regarding contextualization.

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This article addresses the question: how many people are employed in the new private sector in Russia and what are the principal characteristics of the new private firms that employ them? Following a review of the available data, the analysis of new household survey data suggests that the new private sector in Russia is much healthier than many pessimistic commentators have supposed. It has not played the transformative role that optimists might have hoped, but it has been growing steadily through the 1990s and now dominates the branches of trade, catering and services that it has made its own. On the other hand, the new private sector has made much less progress in the productive sphere and its future prospects in the absence of overall economic growth are more uncertain.

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PurposeThis article investigates which definitions, indicators and instruments are used by the companies to identify and assess talented employee potential with successful performance on future pivotal positions.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data were collected in 2020–2021 in 45 local and multinational companies in Russia with well-established talent management functions using in-depth interviews with human resource (HR) managers and consultants.FindingsThe study found a diversity of approaches to identifying and assessing talent potential with a predominantly contextual approach but so far with little focus on company’s strategic objectives. It was also found that companies assessed cultural (values) fit, social intelligence and impact, engagement and commitment as predictors of managerial and leadership potential of talented employees for future strategic jobs, in addition to characteristics of personal resources. The search for new complex and validated tools and methods of potential assessment under budget constraints show that companies have taken the path of experimentation.Practical implicationsThe results of this research can inform talent and human resource managers how to identify and assess potential of talented employees for future needs of their organizations.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the existing research in three ways. First, it offers a classification of approaches to potential assessment and explores the underlying dimensions of high-potential talent for future needs of a company. Second, it provides an overview of the current state of potential assessment in the companies in a non-western context. Third, it points out the challenges HR professionals face in implementing potential assessment for identifying talents in a new situation of unprecedented changes and uncertain future.