Purpose: The purpose of this study to establish what demographic characteristics (gender, generations and organisational tenure) play a role in employee perceptions of organisational culture, commitment and identification in Russian public organisations. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected electronically from 248 employees of two public organisations. Three questionnaires were used. Findings: Organisational tenure plays a central role in the way how employees perceive organisational culture; tenure also shapes the levels of both commitment and identification. The specific finding of Russian settings is that the longer employees work for a company, the lower the levels of psychological attachments they demonstrate, while it is not the case for some existing international results. The other findings correspond with those in international studies, in which women were more psychologically attached to the organisation and showed a higher level of identification and lower rates of negative forms of this concept than men did. The older the employees are, the higher the level of identification they express. Practical implications: Managers working in Russian settings can struggle with engaging and retaining employees. Understanding the demographic effects can help alleviate these challenges. Originality/value: Based on empirical findings, this paper contributes to the literature on organisational socialisation by providing evidence of the damaging effects of the length of organisational tenure on psychological attachment to the company (in the form of commitment and identification). Additionally, tenure is the shaping factor of employee perception of organisational culture.