In a story that’s equal parts international intrigue and human drama, a sprawling Russian recruitment drive targeting young African women has come under sharp scrutiny from governments and watchdogs across several continents. At the heart of the controversy is the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, Russia, where a factory has been assembling Shahed military drones—unmanned aerial vehicles that have played a central role in Russia’s ongoing strikes on Ukraine. The recruitment campaign, which has swept through South Africa and other low-income countries, is now the subject of government investigations and allegations of deception, exploitation, and even possible human trafficking.
According to Bloomberg, the campaign began in earnest as Russia faced a severe labor shortage, with demographic decline, mass mobilization for war, and an exodus of critics and opponents of President Vladimir Putin’s regime leaving the country short-handed. With restrictions on Central Asian migrant workers tightening, Russian companies turned their gaze to Africa, where unemployment among the working-age population in countries like South Africa hovers around one-third. Recruiters promised high salaries, quality education, and the chance for a prosperous career in Russia. But for many of the women who accepted these offers, the reality was far bleaker than the glossy brochures and Instagram posts let on.
In January 2025, the South African branch of the BRICS Students Commission published job advertisements targeting women aged 18 to 22, offering positions in construction and hospitality in Alabuga. The campaign was widely promoted on social media, with South African influencers on Instagram and TikTok amplifying the message. By May, the South African chapter of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance had signed an agreement to supply 5,600 workers to Alabuga and the construction firm Etalonstroy Ural by the following year, according to Ukrainska Pravda and Bloomberg.
Yet, as the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) revealed, over 90% of these young women were instead funneled into drone assembly lines, their labor fueling Russia’s war machine. The goal was ambitious: churn out 6,000 Shahed-type drones annually. "They are making weapons and ending up on the front line because now they are part of the war," Spencer Faragasso, a senior fellow at ISIS, told Bloomberg. ISIS also noted that women were considered more reliable than men for this kind of meticulous work—a rationale that only adds another troubling layer to the story.
The Alabuga Start program, which marketed itself as an "international program for ambitious young women aged 16 to 22, offering a chance to move to Russia and build a successful career," has been at the center of the controversy. But the reality, as recounted by six young African women interviewed by the Associated Press in 2024, was far from the promise. These women described being lured with assurances of free flights and lucrative internships in hospitality or catering, only to find themselves forced onto the drone assembly line. The conditions were harsh: long hours, lower-than-promised pay, and exposure to toxic materials without proper protective gear. One woman shared, "We were promised something completely different. When we arrived, we were told we would be working on drones. It was dangerous, and we had no choice."
South African authorities have taken these reports seriously. As of August 22, 2025, the country’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation confirmed an active investigation into the recruitment practices of Russian companies, particularly those associated with the Alabuga Special Economic Zone. "The government of South Africa is actively investigating reports of foreign programs that recruit South Africans under false pretenses," the ministry said in a statement to Bloomberg. While officials have yet to find conclusive evidence that the job offers in Russia differ from their stated purpose, the ministry acknowledged that "attention has been drawn to the alleged recruitment of young people by the company Alabuga." South African officials have not ruled out summoning Russian diplomats for clarification.
The scale of the operation is staggering. The Institute for Science and International Security reported that housing is under construction in Alabuga for approximately 41,000 workers, strong evidence that drone production is set to expand even further. The site is already manufacturing the sixth modification of the Iranian-designed Shahed drones since Russia began importing and assembling them there. The Alabuga Special Economic Zone itself has recently expanded by four new industrial plots covering roughly 163 hectares, with a fifth 30-hectare expansion underway. Dormitories, kitchens, workshops, and access roads have sprung up, consistent with efforts to house large numbers of workers brought in from outside the local region.
The controversy has not been confined to South Africa. In Botswana, Interpol opened a probe in 2025 into whether the Alabuga Start program amounts to human trafficking. In Argentina, a lawsuit was filed against two former reality TV contestants who appeared in a promotional video for the program, raising questions about the legality and ethics of such recruitment drives.
Research organizations, including ISIS, have been vocal in their criticism. They argue that the recruitment of young women under false pretenses and their subsequent deployment to military production lines amounts to exploitation. The situation is further complicated by the fact that these women are not being conscripted into the Russian military, but rather employed as civilian workers in a war-related industry—blurring the lines between voluntary labor migration and coerced participation in a conflict.
Photographs and reports from the ground have corroborated many of these claims. Images show rows of uniform small buildings, their backs emblazoned with the word "Elabuga," housing the influx of workers. Social media channels have circulated pictures and testimonies from African women working at the plant, adding a human face to a story that might otherwise be lost amid geopolitical headlines.
For Russia, the stakes are clear. With about a million men reported dead or wounded in the war and a shrinking pool of available labor, the need to keep its military-industrial complex running has become a national priority. For South Africa and other countries whose citizens have been caught up in the recruitment drive, the episode has sparked a reckoning over the risks faced by vulnerable young people seeking opportunities abroad.
As investigations continue and diplomatic tensions simmer, the story of the Alabuga drone factory stands as a stark reminder of how global labor markets, war, and the promise of a better life can collide—with consequences that echo far beyond the factory floor.
