By the Managing Director, Careers International

Anyone who has spent a career moving people across borders for work learns one thing early. Labour markets don’t change overnight. They shift slowly, and by the time the story reaches the newspapers, employers have usually been struggling for two or three years already.

For Indians thinking about working in Russia, this is exactly what’s happening now. The shortage there is now serious enough that Russian companies are looking well beyond their usual sources of workers, and India is at the top of their list. Here’s what is happening, what the new India–Russia agreement changes, and what an Indian worker should check before signing anything.

How bad is the labour shortage in Russia?

Bad enough that the head of Russia’s Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said in April this year that modern Russia has never lived with a labour deficit like this one. Central bankers aren’t known for dramatic statements.

Unemployment in Russia hit a record low of 2.1% in August 2025 and was still only 2.3% in July 2026. In plain terms, nearly everyone who wants a job has one, so a company that wants to grow has to take people from another company. Wages rise and projects slow down.

Russia’s Labour Ministry expects the economy to need around 10.9 million additional workers by 2030. The Russian Union of Industrialists puts the gap in industry alone at roughly 2 million, and agriculture is short by about 130,000. Construction wages went up 18% nationally over the past year.

The reasons are well known: an ageing population, low birth rates since the 1990s, emigration after 2022, and many working-age men drawn into the armed forces or the defence industry. Whatever one thinks of the politics, the result is simple. There are more jobs than people.

Which foreign nationals work in Russia today?

Central Asia is still the biggest source. Around 3 million foreigners were officially employed in Russia at the start of 2026, and roughly 2.3 million work “patents” were issued in 2025, mostly to citizens of visa-free countries such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. But Russia has tightened migration rules and raised costs, and a noticeable number of Central Asian workers have gone home.

That’s why work permits for citizens of visa-required countries have grown so quickly. About 240,000 were issued in 2025, some 42% more than the year before. China led with roughly 92,000. India came second with about 56,500, up from 36,200 in 2024, followed by Turkmenistan at around 25,000 and Bangladesh at about 9,300.

For 2026, the Labour Ministry set a quota of about 234,900 foreign workers from visa-required countries. India received the largest single share, close to 72,000 places.

None of this surprises anyone who has worked in the Gulf. Indian tradesmen, engineers and supervisors built much of that region, and Gulf employers learned long ago that they could rely on them. Russian employers are at the start of that same learning curve.

The India–Russia Labour Mobility Agreement: what actually changed

On 4 December 2025, during President Putin’s visit to New Delhi, India and Russia signed two agreements, both listed on the Ministry of External Affairs’ labour mobility page. One covers temporary labour activity of each country’s citizens in the other. The other covers cooperation in combating irregular migration. Each runs for five years and renews automatically.

Does a government agreement matter when companies were hiring Indians anyway? It does.

It opens a legal, government-recognised channel. Until now, many Indians reached Russia on student or tourist visas or through informal agents. Some did well. Others found themselves in jobs that looked nothing like what they’d been promised.

Contracts also get more scrutiny. According to reports at the time of signing, contracts under the arrangement are meant to spell out wages, insurance and repatriation rights, and employers are expected to show housing and Russian-language training arrangements and accept compliance checks. Good employers have no problem with this. It weeds out the ones who cut corners.

The second agreement goes after fraudulent recruitment through information sharing, pre-departure orientation, document verification and grievance mechanisms.

One caution. Both sides are still working out procedures and approved channels. If someone tells you the system is fully running and your job is “guaranteed”, they’re ahead of the facts.

Which industries in Russia are hiring from India?

Construction and infrastructure need masons, shuttering carpenters, steel fixers, welders, electricians, plumbers, site supervisors and civil engineers. Manufacturing and machine-building, particularly in the Urals and Tatarstan, want CNC operators, machinists, fitters, fabricators and quality control staff. Textile factories are hiring machine operators and line supervisors.

Food processing and agriculture need plant operators, packers, and farm and greenhouse workers. Logistics companies want warehouse staff and forklift operators, and energy companies are looking for power engineers and electrical technicians. At the higher end, software developers, data engineers and cybersecurity specialists often come in through Russia’s Highly Qualified Specialist route, which involves far less paperwork. Hotels and municipal services are recruiting housekeeping staff, cooks and general workers.

Moscow and St Petersburg get most of the attention, but much of the real demand is in the Urals, Tatarstan and the Far East, where employers are often prepared to offer better packages.

What do jobs in Russia pay?

Reported monthly wages for lower-skilled roles run from about €475 to €950. Some municipal and service jobs in Moscow have been advertised at around 100,000 roubles a month with accommodation, meals and language classes included. Skilled trades, engineers and IT specialists earn more.

Don’t look at the headline salary alone. Look at what’s left after food, housing, transport and the cost of sending money home. A slightly lower salary with free accommodation and meals often leaves you better off. And Russian winters are long, so warm clothing and heating are a real expense.

The risk every candidate must take seriously

Since 2022, some Indians who travelled to Russia on promises of ordinary work, often on visitor visas arranged by agents, ended up in the Russian military. Reports put the figure at around 200, and some never came home. Most had been misled by unlicensed agents offering “helper” or “security” jobs.

That’s why the irregular migration agreement exists, and why India is also working on the Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill. Still, the first line of protection is the candidate and his family. Before leaving, check that:

• The recruiting agent is registered and licensed. You can verify this on the government’s eMigrate portal.
• You have a written contract, in a language you understand, naming the employer, job, location, salary and who pays for accommodation and the return ticket.
• You’re travelling on a proper work visa, never a tourist or student visa someone promises to “convert later”.
• The employer is a named company you can verify, not “a partner company” revealed on arrival.
• Nobody asks you to sign Russian-language documents without a translation. If they do, stop.

In this business, the worst outcomes nearly always start with a shortcut. A few weeks saved at the beginning can cost a worker years.

A word to Russian employers

Hiring from India doesn’t work like Central Asian recruitment, where workers arrive already speaking Russian. The employers who do well test skills properly before selection, pay for basic Russian lessons, appoint a coordinator for the first few months, and keep their word on housing and pay. Word travels fast back to the towns these workers come from, good news and bad.

Careers International is now recruiting for Russian companies

We have opened an office in Moscow and are now recruiting Indian workers for Russian companies. Having our own team on the ground means we can meet employers in person, check their workplaces and accommodation before we send anyone, and stay close to our candidates once they arrive. It’s the same way we’ve worked for more than three decades in overseas recruitment: verified employers, proper trade tests and clear contracts. If you’re a Russian employer looking for skilled workers from India, or a candidate who wants to work in Russia safely and legally, get in touch through www.careersinternational.ru.

Sources: Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India (Labour Mobility Agreements), The Moscow Times, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Trading Economics, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Sberbank India, The Kathmandu Post, bne IntelliNews.