cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29141151

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Activists from WalkFree, an international human rights group that aims to end modern slavery, estimate that roughly 1.9 million people in Russia are being kept in some form of bondage. St. Petersburg alone has hundreds of so-called workhouses, and thousands more are scattered all across the country. Almost all of them operate illegally, and workers are forced to labor for humiliatingly low wages — or for free. Some of these houses are disguised as religious communities or rehabilitation centers and even receive impressive government contracts. Residents who wish to leave and find a normal job are often severely penalized. Meanwhile, workhouse owners make millions, living lives of luxury.

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“People in desperate circumstances”

Illegal advertisements for workhouses pepper walls all over St. Petersburg. The ads promise “help in a difficult life situation”: free housing, food, and most importantly, daily payouts. Such promises appeal mainly to homeless people, migrant workers, victims of fraud, and ex-cons — those who have nowhere else to turn.

“I’m from Belarus,” Viktor [not his real name] explains. “About six years ago I came to St. Petersburg to earn money. I was in the restoration business, making good money. But I started drinking and using drugs. I got kicked out of work and ended up on the street. I didn’t feel like going home. So my friends and I decided to call the number on the business cards.”

As it turned out, promises of help in workhouses always come with very strict demands. All workhouse residents had to work eight-hour shifts every day at whatever location the workhouse assigned for them.

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“Like prison”

Workhouses in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other large Russian cities are similar to one another. As living quarters, they use detached houses or three-room apartments — and sometimes even basements, according to our homeless interviewees. An average institution houses and employs from 12 to 30 people. “There were bunk beds in the bedrooms, with a distance of about a meter between the beds. Not too cramped, I guess. Like in prison,” Viktor says.

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How much does a workhouse bring in

A workhouse is a highly profitable business with minimal costs. The Insider calculates that a ten-strong crew brings the workhouse a net income of nearly $5,000 a month. According to former workers, all managers and CEOs earn enough money to buy apartments and cars rather quickly, and some “invest in the business,” expanding the network of workhouses and opening new branches.

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