how IT specialists work and earn money in the southern regions

We continue the section “Where we are not» about the life of IT specialists in Russian regions. We have already written about whether it is possible to move from the capital to the region without loss in standard of living, and also explored how IT specialists live in Far East, Northern Caucasuson UralV Siberia And Northwestern Federal District. Now let’s move to the south of the European part of the country and talk about the development of the IT industry in the Southern Federal District.

This is the warmest region of the country with a mild climate. It extends from the Black and Azov Seas to the Caspian Sea, borders Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Abkhazia by land, and Georgia, Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria by sea. The district includes three regions (Astrakhan, Volgograd, Rostov), ​​one region (Krasnodar Territory), three republics (Adygea, Kalmykia, Crimea), as well as the federal city of Sevastopol. The population of the Southern Federal District exceeds 16 million people, which is 11% of the country's population.

The economy of the district is concentrated in the Krasnodar Territory, Rostov and Volgograd regions, where heavy industry, mechanical engineering, non-ferrous metallurgy, and electric power are developed. The Southern Federal District plays an important role in the transport system of Russia: there is a developed network of railways and federal highways connecting the regions of Russia and neighboring states.

Two regions of southern Russia are in the top ten in terms of living standards in the country: Krasnodar region ranks 4th place in the ratingsecond only to Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Moscow region, the Rostov region is 9th. In other regions, the standard of living is lower: the Republic of Adygea is in 22nd place for this indicator, Sevastopol is in 26th place, the Volgograd region and the Republic of Crimea are in 41st and 45th place, respectively. The Astrakhan region is on the 58th line of the all-Russian ranking, the Republic of Kalmykia is only on the 76th.

Cost of living in the south of the European part of Russia is lower than in the capitals and northern regions. Life is cheapest in Adygea and the Volgograd region. In the Rostov and Astrakhan regions, Kalmykia, Krasnodar Territory and Crimea, the cost of living is slightly lower than the Russian average. In Sevastopol, the cost of living exceeds the national average, but is still inferior to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Average salaries in the region are still lower than both the capital and the average Russian level. Despite the fact that in recent years the income of the population growthey do not keep up with Moscow and St. Petersburg. The situation in the Krasnodar region is better than others, including due to income growth in the agricultural sector. At the same time, Kalmykia remains one of the poorest regions of the country: wages are lower only in the republics North Caucasus.

Infrastructure development index in the Southern Federal District belowthan the national average. The highest indicator (above the Russian average) is in the Rostov region, the lowest is in Kalmykia.

Low wages, interethnic contradictions, high share of shadow employment become reasons for the departure of young specialists from the region: to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, countries near and far abroad. At the same time, people from the north-west, the Far North, the Far East, and Siberia are moving to the southern regions: they are attracted by the warm climate, low cost of living, fertile soils, and proximity to the sea.

In the coming years it is expected construction transport corridors through the south of Russia, the development of year-round resorts, European-level university campuses for students and young scientists. One of the promising areas will be the digitalization of cities: Sochi is already one of the leaders in the ranking smart cities Russia, created by the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation. All this can become an incentive for the development of information technology in the region, especially with the spread of remote work.

Alexander Alaev

SEO specialist, Krasnodar

I spent my childhood and youth in Irkutsk. Graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Irkutsk State University with a degree in Microelectronics. Then I moved to Yekaterinburg and lived there for 4 years, and now I’ve been living in Krasnodar for 8 years. Initially, I came here after seeing an interesting vacancy on hh.ru with the funny title “God of SEO.” They promised a very large salary, but in fact I received only 50% of what was promised, although even this was twice as high as the market.

Having settled in Krasnodar, I organized the web studio “Alaich and Co,” where I hold the position of general director. The studio develops and promotes websites. In addition to the studio, I have a number of side projects: the CheckTrust web service, the Moo.Team CRM system and the Qrawl.io analytical service.

I started working in IT when I was a student, and I really like my profession. I can say that there are many vacancies in the city, but it is very difficult to find specialists. We have long ago come to the understanding in our company that a good specialist can only be taught, which is what we do. This means time, money and moderate risks, but there is no other way. Salaries of IT specialists are also constantly growing, but many employers include ambitious KPIs for future employees in their promises, which are sometimes impossible to fulfill, and, as a result, the actual salary turns out to be lower.

But these are not peculiarities of Krasnodar, this is the case everywhere: I’m talking about the lack of good personnel, and about everything else. Krasnodar is no better or worse than other cities, except that IT giants have headquarters in Moscow, and if you want to get a good position, then you decide to move.

I like Krasnodar for its climate: because of it, more people come here than leave. But the consequence of this is an increase in real estate prices, traffic difficulties on the roads, and, of course, a shortage of municipal institutions.

Denis Kobylinsky

Head of sales department in a large IT company, Sevastopol

I head the sales department in a large IT company, I live in Sevastopol. The city has a developed IT sector. There is a strong university here (SevSU), which graduates hundreds of specialists every year – most of them find work without any problems. Many work in local small and medium-sized businesses; a significant part of experienced specialists work remotely in large mainland companies, mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Some specialists leave Sevastopol for Moscow, St. Petersburg and the West. Most of all, young people tend to move to megacities. On the other hand, people come to live from other regions of Russia: from the north, the Far East, and from central cities. Basically everyone is attracted by the sea and the local favorable climate.

I was born and raised in Sevastopol, my friends and family are here. The city is actively developing, becoming prettier before our eyes every year. Many new people come, including interesting and creative ones, many interesting places and establishments appear. There is beautiful nature, the sea, wonderful local drinks, fairly good medicine and education, many museums and parks. Wherever I go, after a week I’m already drawn to home.

Ekaterina Tagaeva

Producer-methodologist of online schools, methodologist of educational programs, Evpatoria

I have lived in Yevpatoria since 2016, I have been working in education for 24 years, now as a methodologist for online schools.

The IT sector in Crimea is rather poorly developed. Local IT companies are concentrated mainly in Simferopol. There are vacancies for system administrators, technical support employees, and information security specialists. IT specialists study at universities on the mainland or online, so they either leave the peninsula or work remotely.

Salaries in IT are approximately 2–3 times higher than the city average. In this regard, many work for other cities and regions or combine their main job with part-time work online.

Many families come to Crimea from other regions of Russia, mainly from the cities of Siberia and the Far East, sometimes from Moscow and St. Petersburg. I moved with my husband and children in 2016 from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Our third son was born here, and we became a large family. But my husband continues to travel to Kamchatka to earn money on a rotational basis in the summer, since he has maritime experience and experience in the fishing industry, but work here is more difficult. This year the eldest son went to study in Maykop to become an information security specialist, the two younger ones are schoolchildren.

Evpatoria is a city that is 2,500 years old. It is interesting for its incredible history and energy, the historical center of the old city, where active churches of 7 faiths are concentrated: they make up the famous tourist route “Little Jerusalem”. People are attracted by the comfortable southern climate, sand and pebble beaches, the warm sea within walking distance, fresh air and food. Every year there are more and more of those who stay here forever.

Dmitry Guguyan

Web programmer, IT entrepreneur, Maykop

I am a programmer, I make websites, I have been working remotely for myself for 15 years. In 2021, I created my own marketing agency. Now I have about 25 people in my team, we work all over Russia, there are also several foreign cases.

I mostly communicate with colleagues from other cities in the country. Maykop has its own web studios, but most of my clients and partners are located outside of Adygea. Local IT specialists study at the Faculty of Mathematics of the Adyghe State University. Salaries in IT are several times higher than the city average, especially if you work remotely in large cities or start your own business. Most local IT entrepreneurs have 90% of their clients from other cities.

Previously, many people left Adygea: there was not enough paid work. We mostly went to the nearest large city – Krasnodar. But there are those who move from other regions of Russia, mainly from the north. In recent years, the local IT community, which was previously sorely lacking, has also begun to take shape.

I personally really like living in Maykop. This is a small city, you can get from one end of the city to the other in about 20 minutes. There are kind, open people, a wonderful climate, nature: a trip to the mountains takes an hour, to the sea – 2–2.5 hours.

Even though I am not tied to a place of work due to my profession, I still want to stay here. At least at this stage of life.

Anastasia Tumanova

HR in an IT company, Rostov-on-Don

I work as HR in an IT company and I can tell you a lot about the specifics of the local labor market in this area. The IT sector in the Rostov region is actively developing, there are quite a lot of vacancies: in addition to Rostov, Taganrog, which is considered the local Silicon Valley, has its own strong professional community.

IT specialists study mainly at local universities. Salaries in the industry are above average: a programmer earns twice as much as, for example, a sales manager.

After the covid pandemic, remote and hybrid work formats are popular. Some remote workers work in companies from other cities. The growth of remote work has partially reduced the outflow of specialists from the city, although some are still moving, mainly to Moscow and St. Petersburg. People come to Rostov from neighboring regions of southern Russia, from the North Caucasus.

I grew up in Rostov, my family is here, I don’t plan to leave yet.

Alexander Maryenkov

Associate Professor, Department of Information Technologies, Astrakhan

I work as an assistant professor at the department of information technology at a state university. I see that in general, things are going well with IT in Astrakhan: there are organizations that are engaged in both software development and its implementation. There are Moscow companies that open their offices in the city and contact universities in search of employees among students and graduates. There is a demand for IT specialists in government agencies as well.

In the public sector, the salary level of IT specialists differs little from the city average. In commercial organizations, salaries can be 2–3 times higher, especially when it comes to developers. Many work remotely for companies in other cities, mainly in Moscow.

In Astrakhan there is a problem of outflow of specialists to other large cities of the country. The main reason is better living conditions and career opportunities. Guys from neighboring Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries come to study, some then return home, others go to large cities.

Astrakhan is a cozy city located in the Volga delta. Due to the relatively small area of ​​the city, all attractions are located next to each other: the Kremlin, the central embankment, and most historical buildings. The climate is continental: very hot in summer, quite cold in winter due to strong winds.

The city has infrastructure problems that are being solved, but not as quickly as we would like. There are also environmental difficulties: the climate is gradually changing, it is becoming hotter, and every year the city is covered in smoke from reed fires from the Volga delta. All of this becomes a factor in population outflow.

I myself don’t plan to leave yet: my job suits me.

Olga Ermolova

Information security specialist, Volgograd

I live in Volgograd, work as an information security systems design engineer. There are IT companies in the city that work for the whole of Russia and foreign countries, and IT specialists are always needed in industry. There are many vacancies, and at different levels: from beginners to leading experts. IT specialists study mainly at Volgograd State University (VSU) and at Volgograd State Technical University (VGTU), the former Polytechnic Institute.

Salaries in IT are higher than the city average by at least 30%. Many IT specialists work remotely for companies in other cities: over the past 5 years, the number of remote workers has increased by dozens.

Previously, many people left Volgograd for money and a career; now they often work remotely for employers in the capital and abroad. Mostly school graduates leave, enrolling in universities in other cities. Unfortunately, the level of education in Volgograd has fallen greatly over the past 15 years. University graduates usually do not return to the city. They come to Volgograd mainly from other cities of the Southern Federal District.

I once thought about leaving the country. Now I’m thinking about how to go even deeper into the country: I’m looking for a house in the village. If you have the Internet and qualifications, you can work for any large company. The small homeland is mainly supported by relatives and friends.

I like the steppe nature, local climate, quality products: fruits, vegetables, meat, cheeses. Capital-level restaurants are appearing in the city, infrastructure is developing, although perhaps not as quickly as we would like. And you can always fly to St. Petersburg or Moscow for the weekend.

Arkady Muniev

IT entrepreneur, Elista

I am the co-founder and project manager of the Digital Kalmykia IT cluster. I live and work in Elista. Most regional IT vacancies are related to the public sector. Most of the IT specialists in the republic work remotely in federal and foreign companies.

According to statistics, the average salary of an IT specialist in Elista does not greatly exceed the city average. There are no major developers in the republic, which means there are no regional employers in the software development sector. Remote travel to other cities costs several times more.

Many people are leaving Kalmykia. There are several reasons. The first is a more prestigious education outside the region, which is important for school graduates. The second is the outflow of the population to work in regions where wages are higher. Many young people go to large cities also in order to expand their life experience. But some of them, having gained experience, return to their native republic. Hence the increase in entrepreneurial activity in Kalmykia, characteristic of recent years.

For myself, I see several important advantages in living and working in Kalmykia. The first is that the results of my work benefit the development of the region. The second is life in the atmosphere of one’s native culture. Being in Kalmykia, I know who I can communicate with in my native language. There are opportunities to study your native culture. The third plus is the availability of tasty, environmentally friendly food. The fourth is the unique culture and atmosphere of the Buddhist region in Europe.

Thanks to efforts aimed at developing the urban environment, every year the republic becomes more comfortable to live in. I am close to the Buddhist concept of emptiness: it is precisely this that is an attractive feature of Kalmykia for me. In emptiness there are more opportunities for development and creation.

I am confident that in the future our region will become a vibrant and attractive place for guests and residents.

Let’s summarize: how IT workers live in the south of the country

Proximity to developed markets in Europe and Asia, the presence of qualified specialists, and the development of specialized education make the south of Russia attractive to investors. In the future, the Southern Federal District may become the center of the country's technological development due to favorable geographical, climatic and natural conditions.

However, to fully unlock the potential of the IT sector in the south of Russia, further support from the state is necessary. It should include the development of infrastructure, the creation of favorable conditions for attracting investment, and the active development of the region’s human resources potential. The emergence of new startups, the development of IT clusters, the creation of an attractive environment for the work and life of talented specialists – these are the key factors that can ensure the prosperity of the IT sector in the south of the European part of the country.

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