Digital Push: How Russia’s Tech-Driven Economy Defied Sanctions and Pandemic Shocks

Over the past five years, Russia’s digital transformation has helped the country withstand global crises while modernizing governance and catalyzing economic growth.

Digital Economy as an Engine of Growth

In the span of just five years, Russia has undergone a dramatic economic transformation—and it’s largely thanks to its investment in digital technologies. A nationwide shift to digital public services has removed bureaucratic roadblocks, streamlined processes for citizens and businesses, and saved vast amounts of time and resources.

According to the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), which evaluated national projects from 2018 to 2024, the results defied expectations. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical upheaval, and unprecedented Western sanctions, 243 out of 255 federal performance indicators were achieved. Of those, 199 exceeded their original targets.

New infrastructure was built, production sites were launched, millions of jobs were created, and thousands of enterprises were modernized. At the heart of it all was the digital economy, leading the charge toward new management and production frameworks. Today, nearly 100% of socially significant government and municipal services are available online—eliminating queues, delays, and paperwork overload.

To strengthen technological sovereignty, we must embed cutting-edge digital solutions across the entire economy. Fortunately, we have a strong IT sector to lead this effort. Over the past six years, it’s become one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy, nearly doubling its share in GDP and employing close to one million people. The number of domestic software products is rising rapidly—since 2020, the national software registry has grown fivefold. These are products made in Russia, by Russia

Mikhail Mishustin

Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

New National Projects, New Digital Priorities

In 2025, a new five-year phase of national development kicked off, with flagship initiatives like 'Data Economy and Digital Transformation of Government' and 'Efficient and Competitive Economy.' These programs aim to build technological sovereignty in sectors from agriculture and transportation to manufacturing and software export.

Through loans, grants, and guarantees, small businesses are being empowered to modernize and scale. More than 550 IT projects have already secured funding totaling over 75 billion rubles, supporting breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence and industrial automation.

These efforts are paving the way for Russian IT firms to expand into global markets—especially in BRICS and CIS countries. Long-term plans include reducing import dependency and increasing resilience through locally developed digital twins, cloud platforms, and autonomous control systems in key industries like energy, atomic research, and transportation.

Resilience Built Through Crisis

The road to this point hasn’t been easy. The COVID-19 crisis in 2020 forced rapid implementation of digital tools—from telemedicine to remote learning—laying the foundation for systemic digitization.

The geopolitical shocks of 2022–2023 and intensified sanctions made digital sovereignty a top priority. Demand for domestic software, cloud infrastructure, and autonomous systems surged. By 2024, these technologies were being deployed at scale nationwide.

National projects launched in 2025 aim to proactively shape the future, targeting space tech, digital infrastructure, energy, and transportation. These initiatives are already proving effective, enhancing quality of life and forming a resilient, high-tech economic base for the years ahead.

Digitalization is no longer a support tool—it is the core engine of transformation, driving business development, government optimization, and global market access. In Q1 alone, Russia’s ICT sector output exceeded 1.88 trillion rubles, while capital investment in IT firms reached nearly 120 billion rubles.