Russia's prison population falls by 40%, partly by sending convicts to fight in Ukraine

Published on 14/05/2026 - 15:15 GMT+2

The fig of prisoners successful Russia has dropped by much than 180,000 implicit 5 years, successful portion driven by Moscow sending convicts to combat successful Ukraine, Russia's situation main said connected Thursday.

In 4 years of war, Russia has offered prisoners service contracts to combat successful Ukraine and bargain retired their sentences, should they survive.

Russia, which has a monolithic situation web inherited from Soviet labour camps, has 1 of the world's largest convict populations, though that fig has been decreasing successful the past 20 years.

"If astatine the extremity of 2021 determination were 465,000 (prisoners), past present determination are 282,000," the caput of Russia's penitentiary service, Arkady Gostev, said, according to the TASS authorities quality agency.

That represents a driblet of astir 40%.

Around 85,000 of the existent situation colonisation is held successful pre-trial detention, helium added.

Gostev said the diminution was successful portion driven by the army's recruitment drive, but besides owed to much suspended sentences and different forms of punishment handed out.

Prisoners returning from the Ukraine beforehand person led to an summation successful transgression and societal hostility successful Russia.

Gostev besides said thousands of prisoners were moving connected accumulation sites successful enactment of the army, contributing to the country's wartime economy.

Russian prisoners are often made to work, successful a strategy inherited from the Soviet Gulag.

"Over the people of the year, we had additionally deployed 16,000 inmates for these (army) purposes, specifically for manufacturing," TASS quoted Gostev arsenic saying.

"We nutrient goods for the peculiar subject cognition (worth) astir 5.5 cardinal rubles (€64 million)," helium said, utilizing Moscow's word for its full-scale penetration of Ukraine.

"The measurement of accumulation (at situation sites) successful 2025 amounted to 47 cardinal rubles (€548 million)," helium said, without elaborating however overmuch of it was for service needs.

Russia has experienced a shortage of workers during its offensive, with hundreds of thousands of men astatine the beforehand and a akin magnitude fleeing the state owed to mobilisation.