Salary growth for IT professionals in Russia has decelerated to 4.1% year-on-year, falling below the national inflation rate of 5.86%. Despite this slowdown, certain categories of specialists continue to see their salaries rise, while entry-level developers are experiencing stagnation and a decrease in job offers. According to research from SuperJob, the increase in IT salaries dropped significantly from 15% in May 2025 to just 4.1% by May 2026, which is lower than the inflation rate reported by Rosstat for March 2026—5.25% in Moscow and 5.86% nationwide. Analysts attribute the decline in salary growth to a combination of a high base effect and changes in the job market. Currently, salary increases are primarily seen among middle and senior-level specialists, while young professionals are facing heightened competition and a shrinking number of entry-level positions.
Despite the overall slowdown, certain IT roles still command impressive salaries. Data analysts, for instance, had an average salary of 175,600 rubles in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 9% increase compared to the previous year. Business analysts earned an average of 152,800 rubles, up by 21%, while programmers received around 133,400 rubles. In Moscow, the salary for senior Python developers reached 575,000 rubles per month, with back-end Python developers earning between 350,000 and 500,000 rubles, and SCALA developers starting at 350,000 rubles.
The demand for AI engineers, machine learning operations (ML Ops), and DevOps engineers, as well as security specialists, has increased, according to Darija Sorokina, HR director at CommuniGate Pro. While the overall surge in salaries appears to have plateaued, these specialists can expect offers ranging from 600,000 to 1,000,000 rubles. In the first quarter of 2026, AI/ML engineers were among the top three highest-paying roles, with median salaries between 500,000 and 800,000 rubles, followed by cybersecurity experts and DevOps/SRE engineers.
Conversely, entry-level positions are facing a downturn, with salaries for inexperienced workers dropping to between 40,000 and 60,000 rubles, which is below inflation rates. Manual QA engineers are also seeing declines as their roles are increasingly replaced by AI agents. The market for systems architects has also tightened, with salaries decreasing from a peak of 450,000-500,000 rubles in 2025 to more common levels of 400,000-450,000 rubles in 2026, indicating a more cautious valuation of these roles.
As companies focus on optimizing costs and seeking new growth avenues in a contracting economy, experts suggest that significant salary increases are unlikely in the near future. The prevailing strategy seems to be to work harder for less pay, highlighting the challenges facing the IT sector amidst current economic conditions. This shift in salary dynamics could lead to a more competitive landscape for hiring, as companies may prioritize experienced professionals while entry-level candidates may find it increasingly difficult to secure lucrative positions.
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