"'Stalin Lives in Your DNA': Russian Teens Forced to Build Drone at Shahed Factory", 22 July 2025

...Russian news media outlet Important Stories pointed to footage of schoolchildren and college students assembling Shahed-136 drones—known in Russia as Geran—at a sprawling drone manufacturing facility in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, from footage released by Russia’s Defense Ministry–owned TV channel Zvezda on July 20.

The segment of the footage depicts an industrial-scale drone production line staffed largely by youth, including ninth graders and students from Alabuga Polytechnic College.

According to the program’s host, these students are both studying and working in the facility responsible for producing the drones used in Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine.

“Hundreds of machines, thousands of workers, and wherever you look—it’s all youth..."

This is not the first time Alabuga has come under scrutiny for its use of underage labor in defense manufacturing.

In 2023, investigative projects Protocol and RZVRT revealed that students were being pressured into assembling Shahed drones under harsh conditions.

Journalists reported that young workers were forced to work around the clock—often without proper rest or food—and those who refused were threatened with expulsion from their college.

Punishments extended beyond academics. Students who refused or failed to meet expectations were reportedly forced to play paintball matches where the losing team was shot at point-blank range with paintballs, forced to dig trenches in the rain, or conduct mock military assaults without proper gear—all while being fired upon by staff.

Legally, these students appeared to have little recourse. Their contracts reportedly required their parents to reimburse the college for training expenses if they were expelled—effectively binding them to the facility...

Russian authorities in Tatarstan have previously attempted to legalize the use of minors in such labor. Officials proposed a “youth employment assistance program” for students as young as 14 and drafted amendments to the Russian Labor Code to allow teenagers aged 16 and up to work in hazardous conditions—a change strongly pushed by Alabuga leadership.

Earlier, Germany’s Ministry of Defense had raised concerns over Russia’s growing capability to conduct large-scale drone strikes against Ukraine, potentially involving up to 2,000 unmanned aerial vehicles in a single coordinated attack.