TALES of exploitation in the shadowS of THE big citY

ENSLAVED

People move to big cities in search of a better life. In Russia, many are driven by unemployment and debt, with over 20 million living below the poverty line (according to the official statistics). But sometimes, the promise of a new beginning ends in modern slavery: unpaid labour, violence, sexual abuse and forced detention.

‘One can find modern-day slavery in any large city with over a million people,’ says the founder of the ‘Alternativa’ movement, Oleg Melnikov. His is the only organization that rescues people from modern slavery.

Modern slavery in Russia commonly takes three forms: forced prostitution, labour exploitation and beggars’ mafias. As the only European nation that did not sign the Council of Europe Convention Against Human Trafficking, Russia does not have the appropriate legal means to define and punish modern slavery.

For those trapped in slavery, ‘Alternativa’ is often their only hope. This is their story.