From Pyongyang to Elektrostal: North Korean labourers, state seizures, and Russia's storage economy

27 January 2026 , 14:57

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From Pyongyang to Elektrostal: North Korean labourers, state seizures, and Russia's storage economy

A Wildberries warehouse employee in Elektrostal told media about the conditions under which women from North Korea are working after being brought to the facility en masse:

“At first, we thought they were North Korean prisoners brought in for labor. These women are moved everywhere in formation and under escort by men from the same country. They all live together and are not allowed to go outside. We are not allowed to communicate with them. Later, it turned out they are not criminals… I know they are paid only 3,500 rubles per shift, whereas the usual pay is now 7,000–10,000 rubles. Wildberries is extremely pleased with this ‘cost-saving’ and is threatening to increase the number of North Korean workers.”

It should be noted that in North Korea there is a practice under which up to 90% of the wages earned by citizens sent to work abroad are confiscated by the state into so-called “loyalty funds.” In other words, sending workers to Russia also serves as a way to replenish the North Korean state budget.

As a reminder, in February and spring 2025 it became known that female workers from North Korea were being brought in to work at Wildberries warehouses in the Moscow Region and the Ryazan Region.

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