You see a 250K+ RUB salary and think you finally made it. Three months later you are in the red.
Mortgage 200K, rent or car 60–100K, food, taxis, kids, “life in the city” on top of that. On paper you are a high earner. In reality you are a well-fed hostage.
This piece walks through real salaries in Moscow by industry, the invisible arithmetic of taxes and expenses, and the three exits most people never design. It is not about “how to earn more”. It is about why more in Moscow often means less freedom.
