Total wage arrears in Russia at the end of April amounted to 2.9 billion rubles, which is 750 million rubles (+35.2%) more than in March, according to Rosstat data presented on May 27.
At the same time, compared to April 2025, wage debt increased by about 1.4 billion (+94.3%).
This data is provided by organizations that are not small businesses.
More than half (55%) of wage debt is due to debt originating in 2026, another 34% is due in 2025, and about 11% is due in 2024.
As Meduza learned, a guide sent to Russian state media recommended “ignoring as much as possible” Rosstat data on wage debt, which was the highest since December 2019.
At the time of publication, leading Russian news agencies had not published Rosstat’s information on wage arrears, although they cited other statistics from the agency’s report.