Russia turns to teenagers as prison staff shortage hits crisis point

Russia is preparing to put teenagers on the frontline of its prison workforce as a worsening labour shortage leaves more than 70,000 positions unfilled across the penal system.

Teenagers could enter prisons at 15

Draft regulations from Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service would reshape vocational programmes so students can train for immediate employment. Recent rule changes allow teenagers to enter departmental secondary vocational academies from the age of 15.

Their training would include practical work across the prison network, from high-security facilities to remand centres. Students would then complete their final placements at the institutions where they have signed employment contracts.

The prison system is running out of staff

The recruitment drive comes despite Russia’s prison population falling sharply during the war. The number of inmates has dropped below 300,000, compared with almost 466,000 before the invasion of Ukraine.

Yet the shrinking inmate population has failed to ease the staffing crisis. More than 30.5% of authorised positions are reportedly vacant, leaving the service short of over 71,000 officers from a workforce establishment of 234,100.

Experts fear standards will collapse

Human rights experts have warned that lowering the recruitment age could further weaken already struggling professional standards.

Anna Karetnikova, a former state penal-conditions monitor, said departmental academies already produced poorly prepared graduates. She warned the deterioration could now begin much earlier, with education standards falling from the end of compulsory schooling rather than at university level.

Manpower crisis spreads beyond the battlefield

The move highlights the pressure facing Russia as competition for workers intensifies across the economy. Military recruitment has drained manpower, while civilian industries and state institutions continue to struggle with vacancies.

For Moscow, turning teenagers towards prison work offers an immediate answer to a severe staffing gap. But it also risks exposing the depth of a workforce crisis that is increasingly forcing the state to choose between filling jobs now and maintaining professional standards for the future.

Russia puts teenagers to work inside high-security prisons: "A very poor education"