South African authorities have begun investigating the recruitment of women to work in Russia

The government of the Republic of South Africa is investigating Russian companies that employ residents of the African country as part of BRICS cooperation initiatives.

This is reported by Bloomberg.

The agencyʼs source noted that the intentions of Russian companies are being checked due to fears that women from South Africa may be recruited to work at a factory producing military drones.

One of the main recruiters is the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan. In early 2025, the BRICS Student Commission, based in South Africa, advertised job openings in the construction and hospitality sectors in Alabuga for women aged 18-22.

Local bloggers began advertising the jobs on Instagram and TikTok. In May, the South African branch of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance signed an agreement to find 5,600 workers for Alabuga and the construction company Etalonstroy Ural to hire in 2026.

Alabuga is home to the “Shahed” drone production facility. Associated Press journalists reported in 2024 that women from Africa and Asia were being recruited to work at the military plant through the online program Alabuga Start. Some of the program participants only learned in Tatarstan that they would be working on the drone production line.

According to Bloomberg, in April, representatives of Alabuga Start visited an educational institution in Johannesburg and distributed materials advertising jobs in Russia.

Officially, the materials of Alabuga Start do not mention work at a military factory. At the same time, experts from the Washington Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) and the Global Initiative to Combat Transnational Crime also noted in their reports that most of the program participants eventually got jobs at a drone factory.

“The South African government is actively investigating reports of foreign programs that recruit South Africans under false pretenses,” the country’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation told Bloomberg.

“The South African authorities have not yet found convincing evidence that job offers in Russia do not meet the stated purpose. However, the government has drawn attention to the alleged recruitment of young people by the Alabuga company.”

According to Bloombergʼs source, South African officials may summon Russian diplomats for explanations.

The publication notes that a third of the working-age population of South Africa is unemployed, and the unemployment rate among women under 34 exceeds 48%. Therefore, for many South Africans, working in Russia may seem attractive.

• Russia is actively expanding drone production at its factory in Tatarstan, using Chinese components and hiring very young and low-skilled workers from among Russian teenagers and African women.
• Alabuga Start representatives also recruit women in other African countries, including Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Botswana. The government of Lesotho, which also has ongoing campaigns to attract young people to study and work in Russia, has warned of the potential risks of such programs.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.