Indian Software Pro Sweeps Streets in Russia Amid Tech Slowdown

Mukesh Mandal, a 26-year-old Indian national who claims to have earlier worked in the software sector, is currently part of a group of Indian migrants employed in street-cleaning and maintenance work in St. Petersburg, Russia. According to reports carried by Russia's app-based media platform Fontanka, Mandal earns roughly Rs 1 lakh a month under a contract that includes accommodation and meals.

The report said Mandal was among 17 Indian workers who arrived in St. Petersburg several months ago to address labour shortages in municipal road maintenance. The group, aged between 19 and 43 years, includes individuals who previously worked in India as farmers, drivers, architects, small business owners, a wedding planner, a tanner and Mandal, who identified himself as a software developer.

The workers were reportedly recruited by a Russian road-maintenance firm, Kolomyazhskoye, and relocated to the city for street-cleaning and winter road maintenance duties. The employment package includes housing, food, protective clothing and transportation, factors that were described as making the jobs attractive to migrants seeking stable income amid uncertain employment conditions in their home country.

Under the contract, the workers perform manual tasks such as sweeping streets, clearing debris and assisting with winter upkeep of roads, under the supervision of the local firm. Monthly earnings for workers like Mandal are reported to be around Rs 1 lakh, subject to currency exchange rates.

The report cited Mandal as saying that he had previously worked with major technology firms. "I've mostly worked at companies like Microsoft and used new tools like AI, chatbots, GPT and the like. Essentially, I'm a developer," he was quoted as saying.

Mandal reportedly told Fontanka that his decision to take up manual work in St. Petersburg was a pragmatic one. With hiring slowing in parts of the global technology sector, he opted for a job that would allow him to earn, save money and eventually return to India. He described the move as temporary and driven by practical considerations, stressing the dignity of labour and the need to support family responsibilities and future plans.

The St. Petersburg-based outlet Fontanka has been cited as the original source for interviews with the workers, with other media organisations subsequently amplifying the story. Mandal's account has been placed within a broader context of a global slowdown in the technology sector, where layoffs and reduced hiring have pushed some professionals to seek work outside their original fields.

At the same time, labour shortages in parts of Russia have reportedly increased demand for migrant workers in manual and municipal services. For Mandal and others, the immediate priorities appear to be steady income, covered living expenses and the ability to save or remit money, with plans to return to India when circumstances improve.

Some reports have also cautioned that while such arrangements may provide short-term financial relief, they raise questions about long-term career disruption, worker protections and the difficulty of independently verifying claims about prior professional backgrounds from abroad.

- IANS