‘Everything they earn by killing, they throw away on prostitutes’ How Russian soldiers returning from Ukraine are reshaping St. Petersburg’s sex trade

‘Everything they earn by killing, they throw away on prostitutes’ How Russian soldiers returning from Ukraine are reshaping St. Petersburg’s sex trade

St. Petersburg’s sex trade has changed dramatically since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Women in the industry say that, until recently, soldiers returning from the front made up around half the clientele in illegal brothels. Sex workers are among the most vulnerable groups in Russian society, and violence at the hands of soldiers has become especially difficult to guard against. The St. Petersburg outlet Bumaga spoke with two women working …