Внешняя миграция российских IT-специалистов: мотивы, практики, последствия

Мир России: Социология, этнология. 2026. Т. 35. № 2. С. 68–94.

Balabanova E. S., Лазенкова А. П.

The aim of the paper is to determine the main motives and practices of external migration of Russian IT-specialists in 2022-2023, to compare the subjective well-being of professionals who left and those who stayed. The empirical part of the research is based on a combination of in-depth interviews with IT specialists who left, stayed and returned to Russia (N=21) and a standardized online survey of the three groups of respondents (N=316).

The study showed that in 2022-2023, along with traditional “pull” factors of external migration, “push” factors related to the political context, increased anxiety and worsened working conditions, came to the fore. The main factor retaining specialists in Russia is family and friends. Highly qualified specialists are the most inclined to migrate, which is unfavorable for the Russian labor market.

The comparative analysis reveals that IT specialists who stayed in Russia have a higher overall life satisfaction and more often report an increase in material well-being over the last 2 years. At the same time, they face an increase in the workload and complexity of their tasks, and an increase in work-related stress. Those who left feel safer and generally work in more comfortable conditions, but more often than those who stayed report a decrease in the complexity of their work, which could potentially lead to their deskilling. The most serious loss for those who left has been the breakdown of family and friendly social ties.

Keywords: внешняя миграция, субъективное благополучие, удовлетворенность жизнью, адаптация мигрантов, external migration, IT-специалисты, IT specialists, релокация, relocation, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, migrant adaptation