Russia is in dire need of personnel to work at defense enterprises: such factories are looking for tens of thousands of new employees. The production of weapons and military equipment has increased sharply due to the war that Russia is waging. There are few suitable
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personnel on the labor market, sometimes the search lasts for months. As a result, the demand for shift workers in the industry is growing, and some defense plants are actively attracting young people. Russian BBC News investigated vacancies at Russian defense plants. In the
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period from August 15 to September 15, more than 90 thousand vacancies were posted on the largest Russian job search portals, where defense enterprises, state defense orders or the defense-industrial complex were mentioned, as well as published by defense industry
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enterprises. Engineers of various categories, turners and CNC machine operators are especially actively sought. Despite the tempting salary, the ads are not viewed very much and they hang for weeks or even months. In early 2024, President Vladimir Putin said that "in the
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last year and a half alone, 520,000 new jobs have been created in the defense industry." Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov cited a similar figure at the time. According to him, the number of employees in the military-industrial complex has grown by 600,000 since 2023.
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State and pro-Kremlin media regularly advertise jobs at military factories. The shortage is also caused by the fact that Russia as a whole is experiencing a shortage of personnel. Some current and potential employees have gone to fight in Ukraine, while others have gone
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abroad amid the war and mass mobilization. The influx of migrants into the country has also decreased. One sign of a personnel shortage is that the same plant often opens multiple vacancies in the same specialty at the same time. In some cases, plants are trying to solve
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the problem by training specialists. In 2024, manufacturing and industrial enterprises published 1.1 thousand vacancies for apprentice turners, grinders, milling machine operators and fitters, which is almost twice as much as in the same period last year. But one of the most
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effective ways to solve the problem (at least in the short term) is a shift work. Factories and recruiters are trying to attract employees from other regions by temporarily housing them near their workplace. The number of shift work vacancies from January to July of this
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year in all industries increased by 460.5 thousand, that is, by 32%. At enterprises of the military-industrial complex, the highest salaries - around 200 thousand rubles per month (approx. € 1,900) - are usually offered to welders, turners and CNC operators for shift work.
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But not everyone wants to go on a shift. According to HeadHunter, only about 3% of all applicants are ready to agree to such work. In recent months, the recruiting company Ancor has recorded accumulated fatigue among defense plant workers due to the high work pace and large
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volumes of overtime. Neither salary increases nor conscription exemptions help to keep employees from leaving for calmer jobs. Shift work often does not include full days off. Some ads indicate a 6/1 or even 7/0 work schedule for 11 hours. Going to work on a rare day off,
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if one is included in the schedule, is encouraged in some ads with additional payments. Among the leaders in the number of vacancies offered are predictably Moscow and the Moscow region, as well as the Sverdlovsk region, where, according to 2022 data, 20% of Russian defense
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enterprises were concentrated. Despite the obvious need for personnel, the salaries offered at defense industry enterprises are not growing as quickly as payments for contract service in the Russian army.
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The issue of Russia's connection with the terrorist organization Hezbollah is increasingly being raised in the international arena. Despite Moscow's official statements about its non-involvement, many facts and events point to the opposite. Russia, as one of the a key
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players in the Middle East, has long supported Hezbollah both through diplomatic channels and by supplying weapons through Syria, as well as to Iran. Despite the escalating disagreements, Iran remains Russia's ally. Israel struck a Russian base in Syria, where weapons were
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allegedly being delivered to neighboring Lebanon. Israeli security forces, conducting operations in Lebanon, found weapons of Russian origin in terrorist tunnels. Moscow supports terrorist groups to achieve its own geopolitical goals. Russian special services and PMCs
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In late September 2024, Russian forces intensified their attacks on Vuhledar, which significantly worsened the situation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area. Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat from their positions in Vuhledar. Russian troops failed to completely 1/7
encircle Vuhledar, but they were able to cut off its flanks and deprive the city of supplies, which significantly weakened the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The city, which had been held by Ukrainian forces for almost two years since the beginning of the full-scale 2/7
invasion, found itself in an extremely difficult situation due to the cut communications. As a result, Ukrainian troops decided to retreat to avoid encirclement and continue the defense at pre-prepared lines. One of the key factors that ensured the success of Russian forces 3/7
1/8 What will Israel's next move be? Take by @joni_askola
2/8 iran took action and retaliated last night. While no Israelis were killed in the strike, there was significant material damage, and Israel will respond.
3/8 Israel has various options for retaliation. It can target iran's energy or military infrastructure, engage in sabotage, carry out assassinations of key figures in iran, execute a large-scale cyberattack, among many other possibilities.
The Russian federal budget for 2025–2027 provides for a significant increase in spending on defense and the presidential administration. In 2025, defense spending will increase by 27%, reaching 13.2 trillion rubles, which will amount to 6.2% of the country's GDP. Together 1/9
with internal security, this will amount to about 40% of the entire budget for 2025, which exceeds the amounts allocated for healthcare, education, and the social sphere combined. About 30% of the budget will be classified and will likely go to defense and security agencies. 2/9
At the same time, spending on the maintenance of President Vladimir Putin and his administration will also increase significantly. In 2025, the budget for these needs will increase by 30%, amounting to 20.59 billion rubles. These funds will mainly be used to increase the 3/9
On September 29, 2024, The Insider published an investigation asserting that Alexei Navalny's death in a penal colony may have resulted from poisoning. This claim is based on hundreds of documents obtained by journalists, which detail the events leading up to his death. 1/6
Medical experts who reviewed the documents pointed out that symptoms such as sharp abdominal pain, vomiting, and seizures do not align with the official cause of death—cardiac arrhythmia. Russian authorities initially reported that Navalny’s death was due to complications 2/6
from chronic illnesses, including hypertension. However, the documents shared by The Insider reveal that earlier versions of official reports included references to symptoms that were later removed. For instance, early drafts of the investigative findings mentioned abdominal 3/6
This past Saturday, Ukrainian forces launched another attack aimed at striking a Russian arsenal near Kotluban, but it did not achieve the expected results. The drones deployed during the operation failed to reach their intended targets at the arsenal. As a result, only
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grass near the site caught fire, while the arsenal itself remained undamaged. While this outcome is certainly disappointing, it should be noted that this kind of drone attack strategy might be repeated in the future. Drones have proven their effectiveness in other
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operations, and it’s no surprise that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will continue to use them in the fight for control over important facilities. Although the attack on Kotluban did not destroy the arsenal, this result should not be seen as a sign of failure for the entire
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