Uzbek man in Surgut suspected of enslaving Central Asian migrant women

September 4, 2026 at 03:15 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

A man from Uzbekistan is suspected in Surgut, Russia, of luring Central Asian migrant women into forced labor under the guise of employment help. A 36-year-old woman from Samarkand says she was held for years, had her passport seized, and was threatened with death. Russian police have declined to open a criminal case, saying they found no confirmation of her account.

Key Facts

The suspect is a man from Uzbekistan with dwarfism who previously worked as a janitor in Surgut.
A 36-year-old woman from Samarkand says she arrived in Surgut in 2016 and was locked in an apartment, had her passport taken, and had her salary confiscated.
The woman paid the alleged blackmailer $1,700, but the threats and extortion continued.
Russian police said they interviewed all participants and found no confirmation of the woman's claims, so they refused to open a criminal case.
The man admitted during police questioning that he threatened the woman and posted her nude photos online.

The Alleged Scheme

Volunteers from the 'Travli net' foundation and the Telegram channel Baza reported that the man may have spent years meeting women through social networks using other people's photos. He presented himself as a migration service employee and promised compatriots legal work and housing. After the women arrived in Russia, their documents were taken away, depriving them of freedom.

Victim's Account

The 36-year-old woman from Samarkand said she came to Surgut in 2016, trusting an acquaintance from the internet. The man locked her in an apartment, took her passport, and confiscated all the salary she earned as a cleaner. For several years he kept her in fear, blackmailed her with intimate photos, and regularly threatened violence. She said the man kept a knife under his pillow and told her: 'I will kill you now, no one will find you. I am a Russian citizen, nothing will happen to me.' One escape attempt ended with a broken arm after she jumped from a window.

Police Response

The woman managed to leave Surgut two years ago with the help of a colleague who later became her husband and moved her to Tyumen. Her husband tried to hold the blackmailer accountable, but Russian police have not pursued the case. Police said they interviewed all participants in the incident and found no confirmation of what the woman published. They added that she had not previously contacted law enforcement, so they refused to open a criminal case. The man admitted during questioning that he threatened the woman and posted her nude photos online, but police saw no crime in his actions.