Failure of Russian Employers to Pay in Timely Fashion Rises to Worst Level Since 2021

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 10 -- A problem many associate with the 1990s has now returned to the Russian Federation with a vengeance -- the failure of companies to pay wages and salaries on time. Such indebtedness of companies to their employees has risen to nearly 1.5 billion rubles (15 million US dollars), 3.4 times more than was the case in 2021 and affection 7200 workers.

            Those are the official figures released by the Russian government’s statistical arm, Rosstat (ehorussia.com/new/node/32807). The real numbers are almost certainly greater all the more so because Rosstat does not accurately report on the situation in smaller firms (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/06/biggest-problem-with-rosstat-economic.html).

            Construction firms are the most often guilty of failing to pay workers and contractors, according to labor union experts. And what makes that especially dangerous is that it can create a cascading and expanding problem: when a large firm doesn’t pay on time, its contractors are often forced into bankruptcy and forced to lay off their workers.