Russia, possessing an extensive prison system inherited from Soviet-era labor camps, houses one of the largest inmate populations worldwide, though this figure has declined over the past two decades.
Over the last five years, the population of prisoners in Russia has fallen by more than 180,000, partly due to Moscow deploying inmates to fight in its conflict in Ukraine, according to Russia’s prison director on Thursday.
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Throughout more than four years of warfare, Russia has offered inmates contracts with the military to serve in Ukraine, granting the opportunity to reduce their sentences upon survival.
Russia, with its vast incarceration network rooted in Soviet labor camp systems, maintains one of the largest prison populations globally, albeit this number has steadily decreased during the last 20 years.
«While at the close of 2021 there were 465,000 inmates, the current figure stands at 282,000,» stated Arkady Gostev, head of Russia’s penitentiary service, in an interview with official state media.
This marks a decrease nearing 40%.
He further noted that approximately 85,000 prisoners are currently held in pre-trial detention facilities.
Gostev explained that the reduction is partly due to the military’s recruitment efforts and an increase in suspended sentences along with alternative punishments.
The return of prisoners from the conflict in Ukraine has contributed to rising crime rates and heightened social tensions within Russia.
Gostev also highlighted that thousands of inmates are employed in production facilities supporting the military, thereby bolstering the nation’s wartime economy.
Labor enforced upon Russian prisoners remains a legacy from the Soviet gulag system.
«In the past year, we have assigned an additional 16,000 inmates specifically for military-related production tasks,» Gostev reported.
«The goods produced for military purposes are valued at approximately 5.5 billion rubles (€64 million),» he added.
«Overall production volume in 2025 reached 47 billion rubles (€548 million),» he noted, without specifying the exact portion allocated to military needs.
Since the initiation of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Russia has faced a shortage of labor due to the large number of men conscripted at the front and a comparable number leaving the country to avoid mobilization.
Additional sources • AFP