MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th December, 2022) About 100,000 Russian IT specialists are now outside the country as a result of the mass departure caused by the Ukraine conflict, but 80% of them continue to work for Russia while in "friendly" states, Russian Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev said on Tuesday.
"If we take the total figure, about 100,000 IT specialists are outside the country, while 80% of them continue to work for Russian companies, while in friendly states," Shadayev told the lower house of the Russian parliament.
Since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, many Russian citizens have left for other countries for fear of being called to mandatory military service.
In March, Sergey Plugotarenko, the head of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications, said that 50,000-70,000 IT specialists had left Russia since late February. He added that 70,000-100,000 more were expected to leave the country during the second wave, that is in April. However, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko told Sputnik in mid-June that most of the IT specialists had already returned home.
In early March, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that granted employees of accredited IT organizations with right to delay military service, if they are under the age of 27. In the spring, Russia also launched a preferential mortgage program for IT specialists at a rate of up to 5%.
After Putin ordered a partial mobilization in the country on September 21, the Russian authorities announced that IT employees, who had relevant higher education and worked in accredited companies, would not be subject to the measure.
