Russian programmers left the country en masse in 2022-2023

Activist of the Russian Federation conducted a study on how IT specialists migrate. Digital analytics showed interesting results, the observation was conducted in 2024 on online platforms. Surveys were published online, some channels agreed to publish the request for free. Thus, the recruitment of survey participants was spontaneous. In total, over three hundred questionnaires were accumulated. Based on this data, an analysis was conducted.

Migration status of a programmer from Russia

• Returned to Russia or moved to the Federation from another country – 9%
• Did not move – 36%
• Left Russia and lives abroad – 54%

It should be noted that the survey participants answered the questions at their own discretion, the study does not cover all IT specialists, so the figures may not reflect the full picture of the migration of Russians. Of the specified list, 66% of people are developers, and more than 20% are testing and analytics specialists. More than 85% are men under 51 years of age. Half of the respondents are officially married and more than 21% have children, more than 82% have received higher education.

The most curious period is when migration statistics showed a significant jump. More than 90% of respondents moved from Russia or back from September 2022 to 2023 inclusive. It was during this period that the Russian government announced a mass mobilization of men for the war with Ukraine. Thus, it is clearly shown how painful actions affect mass migrations from the country and the loss of valuable specialists. Of the respondents, only 10% had work experience abroad before this move, and more than 6% received education abroad.

Which countries do programmers choose to move from Russia

The largest number of specialists 54% migrate to North America, Europe or Israel. More than 8% move to Asia, 18% to the CIS countries. Among others, Georgia and Turkey stand out. They are visited for relocation by 15% and 4% of programmers, respectively. The tendency to move is higher if the specialist already had experience working in another country or visited it. An important factor influencing the decision to move were sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. Working conditions have become much worse since 2022 due to blocking of websites and difficulties with transactions.

Among the main reasons for moving, respondents indicated disagreement with the policy of the Russian government (79%) and uncertainty about personal safety (82%), in third place was the deterioration of conditions there (49%). Of those surveyed, 28% had no doubts about the need to move, 31% doubted because their family remained in Russia. Among the reasons that could convince them to return, 70% named a change in the political situation in the Russian Federation.