Russian Java Programmers Relax: Write Code with Neural Networks and Demand Half-Million Salaries, Ignoring Open Source

According to a study conducted by VK holding together with JUG Ru Group, 95% of Russian Java developers use AI tools in their work, and 53% of them use them daily. The survey, held from March to May 2026, involved over 720 Java programmers. 74% use neural networks to replace traditional internet search, 63% for code writing, 61% for test generation, and 56% for code review. The most popular AI tools are Claude Code (27%), Cursor (17.9%), OpenAI Codex CLI (9.7%), Kilo Code (7.3%), and GitHub Copilot (6.9%). The share of those using at least one agentic tool grew from 43% to 58% between survey waves. For 73% of respondents, AI has replaced Stack Overflow, and 70% do not participate in open source projects at all. Daily AI usage is similar across seniority levels: juniors 53.6%, seniors 52.1%, team leads 54.1%. Desired median salaries do not depend on region: seniors and team leads expect 450k and 550k rubles per month respectively, while juniors want 150k, and mid-level developers 250k rubles per month.