Влияние пандемии и государственной антикризисной политики на российский ИТ-сектор

Abstract

Based on a series of in-depth interviews, we analyze the impact of the current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on Russian IT firms, as well as the effects of government anti-crisis policies. We also study the prospects of IT development in Russia. It is shown that the crisis has not caused fundamentally new problems for the IT sector, but it has strengthened some pre-existing contradictions. However, along with the absence of critical shocks from the crisis – largely due to a dampening role of public sector orders – there were no fundamental changes in the IT sector. Because of its key role in the digital transformation, the IT sector will significantly determine a recovery from the crisis and a pace of economic development. For this reason, the prospects for the Russian IT sector seem very favorable. However, its economic and social impacts will heavily depend on the quality of public policy.