--- description: Country hopes to keep costs down amid economic struggles title: Russia Eyes Use of Prison Labor to Prepare for World Cup image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a47177f5823fc40/6988518c3c1639f34f4580c7/fifa-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [World Cup](/tag/world-cup/) ## World Cup Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Russia Eyes Use of Prison Labor to Prepare for World Cup by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 25, 2015 8:34 PM CUT  Journalists look at a light installation showing the official logotype of the 2018 FIFA World Cup during its unveiling ceremony at the Bolshoi Theater building in Moscow, October 28, 2014. Journalists look at a light installation showing the official logotype of the 2018 FIFA World Cup during its unveiling ceremony at the Bolshoi Theater building in Moscow, October 28, 2014.Maxim Shemetov—Reuters by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 25, 2015 8:34 PM CUT The Russian government [has proposed using prisoners](http://scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/ifb/story.asp?i=20150525095158008388508&ref=rec&tm=&src=IFB "undefined") to help prepare for the 2018 World Cup. Alexander Khinshtein, a lawmaker, has gotten the backing of the Russian prison service to enlist some of the country’s prisoners in building projects related to the soccer tournament, the [Associated Press](http://scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/ifb/story.asp?i=20150525095158008388508&ref=rec&tm=&src=IFB "undefined") reports. Such an initiative would help keep costs of the World Cup down, since Russia typically pays prisoners about $300 per month for labor projects. “It’ll help in the sense that there will be the opportunity to acquire building materials for a lower price,” Khinshtein told the AP. “And apart from that it’ll make it possible to get prisoners into work, which is very positive.” The total estimated budget for the 2018 World Cup is 638 billion rubles, or more than $12 billion. However, the Russian ruble has lost significant value against the dollar since the start of 2014 because of international sanctions imposed against the country and the falling price of oil. \[[_AP_](http://scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/ifb/story.asp?i=20150525095158008388508&ref=rec&tm=&src=IFB "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3895704/world-cup-2018-russia-prison-labor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3895704/world-cup-2018-russia-prison-labor/"},"headline":"Russia Eyes Use of Prison Labor to Prepare for World Cup","datePublished":"2015-05-25T20:34:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:36:22.482Z","description":"Country hopes to keep costs down amid economic struggles","url":"https://time.com/3895704/world-cup-2018-russia-prison-labor/","keywords":["World Cup","russia","Soccer"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a47177f5823fc40/6988518c3c1639f34f4580c7/fifa-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a47177f5823fc40/6988518c3c1639f34f4580c7/fifa-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Journalists look at a light installation showing the official logotype of the 2018 FIFA World Cup during its unveiling ceremony at the Bolshoi Theater building in Moscow, October 28, 2014.","caption":"Journalists look at a light installation showing the official logotype of the 2018 FIFA World Cup during its unveiling ceremony at the Bolshoi Theater building in Moscow, October 28, 2014.","creditText":"Maxim Shemetov—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/world-cup/","name":"World Cup"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3895704/world-cup-2018-russia-prison-labor/","name":"Russia Eyes Use of Prison Labor to Prepare for World Cup"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Vladimir Putin's Year in Review","description":"From the annexation of Crimea to the crisis in Eastern Ukraine, this Person of the Year runner-up left an indelible mark on 2014","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/kIRZQPUV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-10T11:45:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kIRZQPUV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3895704/world-cup-2018-russia-prison-labor/","duration":"PT3M46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3895704/world-cup-2018-russia-prison-labor/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```