The Severny Kuzbass coal company owes its employees nearly 600 million rubles in unpaid wages. Some workers have gone almost a year without receiving their salaries in full, according to an investigation by the Veter journalism project published on October 17.
The journalists interviewed company employees who had previously signed a collective appeal to regional authorities, prosecutors and Russia's Investigative Committee.
On October 13, 57 current and former employees signed an open letter demanding action to resolve the wage arrears.
Payment problems began in 2025. Workers said their wages had been delayed for months and that, in some cases, they received only small amounts.
By autumn 2026, according to figures cited by the journalists, the company owed approximately 600 million rubles to around 1,100 employees. Miners themselves claim that as many as 1,700 people may be owed money.
One of Veter's interviewees, a former employee of the Pervomayskaya mine named Yekaterina, said she was still trying to recover wages owed to her after leaving the company.
According to Yekaterina, the company owed her 294,292 rubles at the time of publication, and she had received her last payments in February.
Another employee, whose name the journalists changed at her request, said she was continuing to work for the company because she feared that resigning would eliminate her chances of recovering the unpaid wages.
Without regular pay, she has had to rely on relatives and temporary jobs. She has also fallen behind on loan payments.
According to financial information examined by the journalists, the company has operated at a loss for several years. In 2025, its expenses exceeded its revenue by five billion rubles.
At the same time, according to journalistic calculations cited in the investigation, the company paid approximately 400 million rubles in bonuses to senior management between 2023 and 2025.
Severny Kuzbass management previously attributed the wage delays to the crisis in the coal industry, falling revenues and difficulties selling its products.
In December 2025, Russia's Investigative Committee announced a criminal investigation into the failure to pay wages. According to workers, however, the situation has not substantially improved since then.
A lawyer interviewed by Veter said recovering the debts could be complicated by the company's financial condition. If the company becomes bankrupt, repayment would depend on the availability of assets and the duration of the bankruptcy proceedings.
Workers continue to demand intervention by government authorities and payment of the wages they have earned.
Information about the wage arrears, working conditions and employees' circumstances comes from Veter's investigation, financial documents and accounts provided by the journalists' interviewees.