Resident of Udmurtia freed from labour slavery in Dagestan

Ivan Yakovlev managed to escape from labour slavery in Dagestan twice; at first he worked at a brick factory, then on a farm as a shepherd, the "Alternativa" anti-slavery movement has reported. Commentators are outraged by the widespread use of forced labour in Dagestan.

Ivan Yakovlev, a resident of Udmurtia, came to Moscow to earn money, since there was no work in his village. In May 2021, at the Kazanski Railway Station in Moscow, unknown persons offered him a job with excellent conditions. After the man agreed, they offered him to have dinner. Yakovlev woke up already in Dagestan at a brick factory located 120 km from Makhachkala, says the message of the "Alternativa" movement on the Instagram, posted on August 1.

After two weeks, he managed to escape. He met three men who offered him to work as a shepherd on a farm. Ivan agreed, as he saw no other way out. However, after three days he wanted to leave the farm, but the owners told him that he had been bought for one ram, which must be worked out.

Ivan managed to run away from the farm two months later. "Now, Ivan is with us. In the future, we'll send him home," the message of the "Alternativa" says.

Social network users have noted that there are frequent cases of the use of forced labour in Dagestan. "I'm just wondering that so many people know about this brick factory, but they can't shut it down! Why can't they free the people?" the user faridachka05 has asked. "People are bought for sheep – it's 21st century! I am shocked," the user homik1981 has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 1, 2021 at 10:02 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.