The plan is to send the forced laborers to the state-owned Uralvagonzavod, which is a huge arms factory in the Urals that mainly produces tanks. There, the prisoners must be deployed as crane operators and welders, among other things, according to Russian media.
The work comes with privileges. For example, the prisoners would not have to sleep in cells, but in a dormitory. The opportunity to stay with family would also be offered. According to the authority, the forced laborers receive a salary, but in addition to a (lower) tax rate, another 5 to 20 percent is withheld.
Uralvagonzavod is one of the largest defense companies and tank manufacturers in the world. The arms factory in Nizhny Tagil is known for the production of the main battle tanks T-72 and T-14. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, a three-shift system has been introduced to increase production.
Since the summer, more and more stories have come out of Russian prisoners being recruited to fight in Ukraine in exchange for a reduced sentence. Russia has already suffered great losses during the war and, among other things, is getting new soldiers at the front. Now prisoners are also used in the arms industry for the war.
LOOK. This is how Russians recruit prisoners for war in Ukraine: “The first sin is to desert. No one retreats”