Russia's Kuzbass miners abandoned without pay as coal industry collapses
Thousands of miners in Russia's Kuzbass region have been left without wages for over a year. Many face unpaid severance, mounting debts, and few job prospects after a wave of mine closures. The crisis has hit former employees hard, with some forced to leave their homes for work elsewhere.
The Kuzbass region, once a coal industry hub, has seen around 20 mines and pits shut down since 2010. Cities like Kemerovo, Prokopyevsk, Mezhdurechensk, and Mysky, along with the Leninsk-Kuznetsky Basin, have lost thousands of jobs. Roughly 40% of the closed sites were open-pit mines, worsening the economic blow.
Between 2023 and 2024, 405 workers at the Inskaya mine went unpaid due to management embezzlement and financial mismanagement. Several executives now face criminal charges over the unpaid wages and debts. Meanwhile, 700 employees at the Spiridonovskaya mine were denied about 250 million rubles in wages in 2025, sparking a separate criminal probe. With coal production collapsing, companies have frozen hiring and lack funds for new wages. Over 6,000 miners in Kuzbass have lost their jobs, leaving many with no choice but to take low-paying work or relocate for rotational jobs in other regions. Laid-off workers report waiting more than a year for severance pay and back wages. The financial strain has pushed some to abandon their hometowns in search of opportunities elsewhere.
The collapse of Kuzbass's coal industry has left thousands of miners struggling without income. Criminal investigations into unpaid wages continue, but many workers remain in limbo. With few local jobs available, the region's economic future looks increasingly uncertain.
