They thought cutting off Russia’s tech would cripple innovation.
Pavel Velikhov, Engineering Manager at Yandex, lists 5 ways in which sanctions forced Russia’s IT boom.
1. Western Exodus = Russian Gold Rush
“Sanctions freed up $74B in market share. Giants like Yandex, T-Bank & Wildberries took off over overnight.”
When US/EU firms abandoned clients—some even left systems unusable—Russian devs stepped in. Overnight demand.
2. No Choice But To Innovate
“Before 2022, companies resisted Russian software—’too risky.’ Now? ‘When can we migrate?!'”
Legacy Western tech was a monopoly. Sanctions broke it.
Now, Russian solutions are the only option.
3. Data Paranoia = Russian Cloud Boom
“US clouds = weaponized risk. Now, only Russian or ‘friendly’ tech is trusted.”
Post-2022, data security fears killed Western cloud reliance. Russian alternatives exploded.
4. No More Silicon Valley Worship
“We were colonized by US tech. Now? We know we can compete globally.”
Sanctions shattered the myth that only America builds elite software. Russian confidence is sky-high.
5. The New Playbook: “No Sanctions” = Huge Selling Point
“Now we pitch: ‘Our tech won’t vanish over politics.’ It’s a massive advantage in Asia, Africa, LATAM.”
