A 26-year-old Indian who once worked in the software and IT sector, including companies like Microsoft, is now cleaning streets in Russia and earning nearly ₹1 lakh per month.

The man, Mukesh Mandal, is part of a group of 17 Indians recruited to St Petersburg amid Russia’s growing labour shortage in municipal cleaning and public maintenance work. They are employed by Kolomyazhskoye, a road-maintenance company that manages city sanitation and reportedly provides the workers with food, accommodation and transport.

Mandal said he earlier worked as a developer using AI tools, chatbots and GPT technologies, spending most of his time in offices and on computers. Now, he finds himself doing hard physical work outdoors in the snow, cleaning roads and public spaces.

“I've mostly worked at companies like Microsoft and used new tools like AI, chatbots, GPT. Essentially, I'm a developer,” he said.

Each worker is said to earn around 100,000 rubles per month, roughly ₹1.1 lakh, according to Russian outlet Fontanka. The group ranges in age from 19 to 43 and includes former farmers, wedding planners, drivers, small business owners and architects — all drawn by better earnings abroad.

Mandal said the move was driven purely by financial needs, not a long-term career shift.

He also made it clear he does not plan to settle in Russia permanently. His goal is to work for a year, save money, and return to India.

Some media reports claimed he worked directly for Microsoft; however, this has not yet been independently verified.