Alabuga drone assembly doesn’t pay as well as advertised, Russian students find

For a report published on Aug. 20, independent outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe interviewed current and former students and staff at the Alabuga special economic zone’s college. Students described days split between classes and factory shifts. Mornings were spent in a WorldSkills training block, sessions designed to teach practical skills such as soldering, followed by work on the production floor.

“You get up at 7:50 and go to WorldSkills until 4 p.m., and then to work,” one former student told the newspaper.

“Or in the morning we had team-leadership tournaments, then work. We often worked until 4 a.m. because our supervisors who were supposed to train us just dumped their tasks on us. I left because it was impossible to combine work and study. I slept two hours a day.”

Pay did not match the promises, either. In March, Alabuga launched a large advertising campaign that promised second-year students RUB150,000 ($1,765) and third-years RUB350,000 ($4,118). First-years, according to the college website, were reportedly paid RUB3,000 ($35). A former student, Alexey, said after dorm fees were deducted, he was left with about RUB1,500 (roughly $18).

At the St. Petersburg Economic Forum in June, Elvira Fomina, head of the Alabuga Polytechnic College, claimed a college student could earn up to RUB500,000 a month ($5,970) assembling Shahed drones.

Novaya Gazeta Europe’s sources also described what they called inappropriate behavior by the factory director, saying he sometimes invited students to his home and occasionally for overnight stays.

After 2025 Ukrainian drone strikes on Alabuga, some students decided to withdraw from the program. A former employee said the attack prompted some students to quit, but most did not take the threat seriously; the administration tightened evacuation measures.