From January through June 2023, Russian freelancers generated 5.3 billion rubles in earnings, marking a 53% rise compared with the same period a year earlier. The source notes this data as coming from Solar Personnel, a service that handles outsourcing operations for freelancers. The growth signals a strengthening freelance sector within the country, reflecting broader shifts in how people power their incomes and manage project-based work across diverse industries.
A striking detail from the platform’s data shows that a large majority of freelancers—about 89%—withdraw funds to bank cards issued by Russian banks, while a smaller segment, roughly 9%, chooses to transfer earnings to cards issued abroad. In total, freelancers moved more than 5 billion rubles to both domestic and international cards; roughly 510 million rubles of this amount were sent to foreign cards, with destinations including Georgia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Turkey. This pattern underscores how freelancers navigate payment ecosystems, balancing domestic liquidity with opportunities to access international markets where currency exposure or expense patterns vary.
Looking at withdrawal behavior by card type, the service reports that the average income for freelancers who cash out to Russian cards is about 100,000 rubles per period. In contrast, those who withdraw to foreign cards show a higher average, around 319,000 rubles. The data also reveals role-based trends: bloggers and consultants most frequently transfer funds to domestic cards, whereas administrators and programmers more often route earnings to foreign cards. This split hints at differing client bases, project scopes, and perhaps cross-border collaboration that influences payment routes and tax planning in the freelancing landscape.
Turning to employment patterns around the May holidays, a Zarplata.ru survey cited by RT in late April captured a snapshot of Russians seeking extra income. About 15% of respondents planned to take on part-time work during the holiday period. The most popular part-time roles included taxi driving, at 17%, and courier services, at 12%. Other common auxiliary occupations were goods collectors (9%), sales roles (9%), and nannies (8%), with roughly 10% noting they would work overtime within their main, permanent job. These findings illustrate how seasonal spikes in demand drive people to supplement their income with flexible gigs, painting a broader picture of how freelance activity complements traditional employment.
Earlier reports also highlighted that a sizable share of the population engages in additional freelance work. The trend points to a steadily growing ecosystem where project-based tasks, short-term engagements, and micro-freelancing contribute meaningfully to household budgets. The convergence of platform data, survey insights, and regional payment choices paints a nuanced picture of an economy in which independent work is increasingly embedded in everyday financial life. These dynamics reflect both the resilience of freelance careers and the practical considerations freelancers weigh when choosing domestic versus international payment channels, currencies, and banking relationships.