‘A new start… Guaranteed housing and Russian language lessons… Every six months brings a promotion and a salary increase.’

This is how South African influencers – with millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram – promoted a recruitment drive for the Russian republic of Tatarstan, that has now been linked to human trafficking.

DJ and social media influencer Cyan Boujee – who has since apologised – is among those who gushed about the ‘opportunity’ after being flown to Eastern Europe.

Standing in front of a block of flats build for recruits from Africa, she told her followers about how the programme is a ‘fresh new start,’ adding that ‘apparently girls are treated fairly here – Africans, Asians, Latin Americans’.

It is unclear what work new hires will do, but the programme targets young women aged 18 to 22.

Behind the sleek PR campaign, plugged by influencers, lie claims of human trafficking, coercion and African women being funnelled into ‘death’ factories to build drones for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

One of the main recruiters is Alabuga Start, which is linked to the Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) – a major player in Russia’s war economy.

Foreign women funnelled into drone factories

Last month, Metro reported on a factory – described by its director as the world’s biggest maker of strike drones – in Alabuga.

Footage shared by the Russian Zvezda news channel showed hundreds of assembled Geran-2 suicide drones, made using modified Iranian Shahed 136 technology.

Russia has been actively recruiting hundreds of foreign women through the ‘international vocational training programmes’.

They are promised professional training and decent pay, only to be forced into drone assembly, a report by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime found.

After initially targeting African countries, Alabuga Start expanded to recruit women from Latin America, South Asia, and former Soviet countries.

Reports found that they were not informed that they would be working in weapons production before arriving at the site.

Some believed they were joining a work-study programme. 

The economics of it make sense. Russia is facing a major gap in the labor market caused by its aging population and the loss of rumoured 1 million men on the Ukrainian frontline.

At the same time, a third of the workforce in South Africa is unemployed.

In fact, its official unemployment rate is one of the highest in the world, so an increasing number are seeking opportunities abroad.

Influencers issue apology after major backlash

After facing backlash online, a number of South African influencers are now deleting videos en mass.

Boujee issued an apology on Tuesday, saying that she knows ‘how serious the situation is, and the team is in communication with the programme.’

Peachy Sprinkles (real name Siyamthanda Anita), who also endorsed the recruitment drive to her almost 800,000 followers, has also released a statement.

She said: ‘A few months ago, the marketing team from the Start programme in Russia reached out to me with intentions of a potential collaboration, saying that they are offering job opportunities to young South African individuals, and they would like us creators to put it out there.

‘Naturally, obviously, you do your research. I didn’t do extensive research, which might reflect as negligence on my end. I deeply apologise for that.’

Russia responds to ‘human traficking’ claims

The South African government said it is investigating the claims about the Alabuga Start programme.

DClayson Monyela, the deputy director-general (DDG), warned: ‘Do not rely solely on social media promotions.

‘Always cross-check and get a second opinion from a trusted source. Verify jobs through official channels.’

The Russian Embassy in South Africa also released a statement, saying that it has ‘taken note’ of the concerns.

It said: ‘Many of the commentators were quick to accuse Russia of “human trafficking” and “exploitation” based on unfounded allegations.

‘It needs to be stressed that the Embassy has no information, apart from that spread through some biased outlets, of foreign nationals being subjected to forced labour, tricked into some actions, or otherwise experiencing violation of their rights in the course of the programme.’

Metro has contacted TikTok and Instagram for a comment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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