The largest IT companies are beginning to return top specialists to Russia. Emigration comes to naught

So, for example, Positive Technologies speaks about the lack of increased emigration. Rather, on the contrary, there is a slowdown or absence.

We are observing a trend towards the return of specialists to Russia. Moreover, we are talking not only about the return of ordinary specialists, but also about experts and top-level managers. Already in 2024, several experts joined our team, behind whom there is vast experience in working in serious positions in foreign technology giants. This is due to the fact that now there are great prospects for creating completely new technologies in Russia, which had no analogues in the country, and people are attracted by the opportunity to contribute to their creation, - explains Anna Rimskaya, senior business partner of the personnel management department of Positive Technologies.

If we talk about cybersecurity, then these are solutions with breakthrough technologies "under the hood": next-generation firewalls, solutions for comprehensive data protection, container technologies, as well as autopilot products that can protect companies from hackers without the participation of people (or with their minimum resource). Tasks of this scale attract talented experts, the expert added.

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Positive Technologies

Yadro The company (part of) also speaks about the readiness of the reverse movement of IT specialists to Russia. "ICS Holding"

IT specialists began to return to Russia. An important factor is large-scale and interesting tasks and the level of comfort of the workflow. When choosing an employer, people will always be attracted by new interesting tasks, significant projects, which can be part of, good social packages, decent salaries and many other aspects. This is what today makes the IT market in Russia attractive and promising for specialists, not to mention unprecedented support from the government and relevant ministries: from grants and soft loans to special mortgages, - said Yevgeny Maksimov, director of ecosystem development and educational initiatives at Yadro.

At the same time, the IBS notes that, despite the lack of increased emigration, the interest of Russian specialists in the foreign market is still high.

Candidates working for good stable companies often only consider overseas options as a new workplace. There is also great interest in the opportunity to work not on the territory of the Russian Federation, which gives a certain freedom in movement ("wintering," trips for a month, etc.). As we know, most Russian companies cannot provide such freedom now, "explains Margarita Romanova, account manager at IBS GlobalCareer.

As for the return of IT specialists, the bulk of those who were ready to return did so in 2023, says Margarita Romanova. Now such candidates come across pointwise, and it is often difficult for them to adjust to salary forks, especially if they worked in Western Europe or the United States. The most common reasons are the end of an interesting project and the lack of alternatives on the market.

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Freepik

Content AI told TAdviser that they see neither an increase in emigration nor a massive return. There are separate examples in both categories, but there is no active movement.

Individual events and news reasons may affect the emergence of new waves of outflow of IT specialists, but in general, it can be assumed that by this time everyone has already decided on a life and professional strategy and continues to adhere to it, "says Svetlana Dergacheva, CEO of Content AI.

Cyberprotect now also does not observe any trending or mass phenomena related to the migration of IT personnel to other countries or the return back to Russia. IT specialists who have previously traveled abroad have passed a certain time when they assessed the new conditions, look at the market, make further decisions, and in general, nothing new is happening for the IT industry, in which specialists have always been quite mobile.

In Russia, there are now many attractive vacancies for which both those who work here and those who may be planning to move respond, - says Elena Kalatsey, HR Director of Cyberprotect.

From their experience and in BASEALT, they do not observe an increase in emigration or the return of Russian IT specialists since the beginning of 2024. The company's development team has not lost specialists, and the newcomers admitted to the staff are university graduates and specialists of Russian firms localized in the Russian Federation, Alexei Smirnov, chairman of the board of directors of BASEALT, told TAdviser.

Postgres Professional notes, rather, a multilateral trend, when some IT specialists leave, others return, and still others continue to live abroad and have taken a waiting position. After the first wave of outflow of IT specialists, a lot of time passed, some of them could not take root and may think about returning. Therefore, now is a favorable moment to create more attractive working conditions within the country, says Ksenia Zamukhovskaya, HR Director of Postgres Professional.

Security measures for IT professionals (obtaining armor, etc.) certainly work, but this is not the only thing that can improve the situation. For example, in the past two years, a good response has been given by the program of interest-free loans, when personal income tax was not withheld from loans issued by the company, - notes Ksenia Zamukhovskaya. - Against this background, possible restrictions on remote work in domestic companies outside the country seem quite alarming. This situation can also affect in two ways - both to encourage IT specialists to return and to look for work abroad, already in foreign companies.

In early April, the Kommersant newspaper, citing data from one company specializing in law services for the registration of residence permits and citizenship of other countries, wrote about the intensification of attempts by IT specialists to leave Russia from the beginning of 2024. Its experts then said that the increase in the number of requests for a residence permit in European countries from IT personnel in the first quarter amounted to 233%. At the same time, absolute indicators of requests received by the company were not given for some reason.

As in most of the IT companies surveyed by TAdviser , in the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia in this regard they also spoke about the absence of a massive departure of IT specialists from the Russian Federation. The department also cited Rosstat data that the number of IT specialists over the past year increased by 13% and amounted to 857 thousand people.

See also

Labor market in Russia (IT and telecom)