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- Downward trend: bloggers, information Gypsies lost 4 billion in revenue in three years
The income of Russian information businessmen (commonly known as information Gypsies) decreased by 4 billion rubles in three years, the Association of Bloggers and Agencies calculated for Izvestia. By the end of 2024, their profit amounted to about 300-500 million rubles against 4.5 billion in 2022. According to experts, this was influenced, among other things, by the non-working YouTube, and Russians themselves increasingly began to turn to specialized specialists with education.
Income of bloggers-infocygan
In Russia, the peak of popularity of information bloggers has passed, as indicated by their incomes: by the end of 2024, the profit amounted to about 300-500 million rubles against 4.5 billion in 2022, the Association of Bloggers and Agencies (ABA) calculated for Izvestia. 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.
Some of the information gypsies are in prison, others are awaiting a court decision, the rest have left the country, stopped their activities or are conducting it more covertly, the ABA noted. 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 (who is under house arrest) have stopped their work. However, Ayaz Shabutdinov, despite the fact that he has been held in jail since November 2023, continues to conduct his business activities — his business school continues to function, but earnings are unknown, the ABA added.
Blogger Elena Blinovskaya
— 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 have discredited themselves, and only those who have either been able to diversify their business or are conducting it based on real education have remained afloat," the ABA noted.
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. In recent years, people have become more selective in choosing educational content and various online courses. Many infobusinesses have themselves undermined their reputation with aggressive marketing, inflated promises, and low-quality products. And, of course, problems with legislation, especially in terms of taxation, he noted.
— The educational content market is currently undergoing a stage of transformation. More and more people prefer proven educational platforms and courses created with the participation of experts, as well as television projects with popular science content," the parliamentarian said.
In addition, it is important to note that the main tool for distributing low-quality content of such bloggers was YouTube, and after its slowdown, of course, they lost their audience, he stressed.
The outflow of audience from bloggers who actively promote various courses will continue. This will partly be due to the further de-anonymization of the Internet space, and work in this direction at the legislative level will definitely continue, he concluded.
Will the Infocygan bloggers regain their audience
The most likely reason for the significant reduction in the income of Russian information gypsies is a series of high-profile scandals and court proceedings in recent years, said Georgy Lapshakov, CEO of the Pochva influencer agency. Public cases involving well-known information businessmen such as Elena Blinovskaya, Ayaz Shabutdinov and others have significantly influenced the perception of the entire industry.
— When the public found out about the scale of unpaid taxes, and sometimes it was hundreds of millions of rubles, a logical question arose: "How much money do they earn from naive buyers?" This created a negative background and led to a sharp drop in audience confidence," he said.
Blogger and business coach Ayaz Shabutdinov during the hearing of the fraud case in the Presnensky District Court
In addition, buyers of educational programs have become much more demanding of the qualifications and reputation of speakers and companies. In recent years, there has been a steady trend of contacting experts with proven specialized education and real professional experience, says Georgy Lapshakov. With the growing demand for quality education, consumers are increasingly assessing the background of those behind an educational product before making a purchase.
The tightening of state control over the activities of bloggers has forced them to be more careful, which probably affected their income levels, says Kristina Petrova, founder of the PR Perfect communications agency.
— The audience has satisfied their need for this kind of education: you can't endlessly buy courses about everything in the world in the hope that one day you will complete them - sooner or later the moment of satiation will come. Now, in the struggle for consumers' attention and wallet, we will have to invent new tools and formats," the expert noted.
Yaroslav Meshalkin, Managing Partner of the Heads'made digital communications agency, noted that the remaining information Gypsies had somewhat reduced their appetites and reduced their marketing activities.
— Sectarians, information gypsies, pyramid creators — they all play on people's weaknesses and desires, and it is difficult to counteract this. Media coverage and prevention are very important here," he said.
Working with professionals, unlike performing the tasks of information gypsies, is always more difficult. Although the pros do not promise an easy way and quick money, they describe the real picture in the market, the expert added.
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