The income of bloggers, information gypsies decreased by 4 billion rubles in three years

The incomes of Russian information businessmen (commonly known as information Gypsies) decreased by 4 billion rubles in three years, the Association of Bloggers and Agencies (ABA) calculated for Izvestia.

Residential and sums: what is the blogger Alexandra Mitroshina known for and how she earns millions

She is accused of laundering 127 million rubles of income.

By the end of 2024, the profit amounted to about 300-500 million rubles against 4.5 billion in 2022. This was influenced by large-scale criminal cases for tax evasion, non-functioning YouTube and the transition of Russians to specialized specialists with higher education.

The association noted that some of the information gypsies are in prison, awaiting a court decision or have left the country, while the rest have stopped their activities or are more secretive. For example, the profit of Alexandra Mitroshina, who was recently detained for tax evasion, decreased from 650 million in 2022 to 150 million in 2024. Yelena Blinovskaya, who was sentenced to five years in a general regime penal colony, and Valeria Chekalina stopped their work. However, Ayaz Shabutdinov, despite the fact that he has been in jail since November 2023, continues to conduct his business activities. His business school continues to function.

"Despite the fact that the demand for the services of tarologists and astrologers in the Russian Federation continues to be high, the information entrepreneurs' page can be considered closed. The largest of them discredited themselves, and only those who either managed to diversify their business or conduct it based on real education remained afloat," the ABA emphasized.

The decline in the incomes of the so—called infocygans is a natural process associated with the loss of audience trust, said State Duma Deputy Anton Nemkin. According to him, in recent years, people have become more selective in choosing educational content and various online courses.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Downward trend: bloggers, information Gypsies lost 4 billion in revenue in three years