Over the past five years, the staff shortage in Russia's penitentiary system has increased to 23%, or nearly 54,000 employees. The reasons for this are low wages and worsening working conditions due to an increase in overtime.
The shortage of junior management staff in the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) exceeds 40% in 16 Russian regions (with the worst situation in the Tula region, where it exceeds 55%), and more than 30% in 29 subjects. More than 45% of FSIN employees leave before reaching retirement age. The number of resignations exceeds the number of new recruits by one-third.
At the same time, it is nearly impossible to track the real staff shortage in the penitentiary system because last year Russia closed 53 penal colonies. In addition, some penitentiary institutions were repurposed to house Ukrainian prisoners of war. These colonies were transferred from FSIN to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Russia. To address the staffing issue in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Russian authorities are forced to lower the requirements for candidates, hiring people with no work experience or higher education.
In early March, the Russian Minister of Internal Affairs, Kolokoltsev, also acknowledged the staff shortage, which has exceeded 172,000 people.
The staff shortage in Russian agencies is an indicator of deepening problems in the Russian economy. In the context of the penitentiary system, this will lead to worsening crime rates in Russia and increase the likelihood of uprisings in Russian prisons.
