Russia's version of online shopping giants Amazon and eBay has been accused of carrying out humiliating strip searches of its female staff. Wildberries, founded in 2004 by President Vladimir Putin's oligarch friend Tatyana Bakalchuk, has seen a huge rise in popularity within the country after the two main companies of eBay and Amazon pulled out when Russian forces invaded Ukraine. But shockingly, a video leaked recently shows women being forced to undress for strip searches by security checking they aren't stealing items. Reportedly filmed in St Petersburg, it shows a woman forced to strip to their underwear for shaming searches by female inspectors – it has been claimed that searches happen twice a day.
Local reports claimed that morning searches are carried out to stop warehouse employees carrying phones or watches into the workplace. “Workers, under the supervision of video cameras, undress and go to the inspection point,” said a report. Other reports say “the working day in Wildberries warehouses ends with a search and stripping down to underwear”, adding that “this is the company's management trying to fight against theft in warehouses”. The video shows women being searched by female inspectors but it has been reported that male workers are also being subjected to the ritual. According to the report, one Wildberries employee had their wage reduced by 500,000 rubles — or the equivalent of $6,581 — as a result of the new system. Since Vladimir Putin ordered his military to invade Ukraine more than a year ago, hundreds of Western companies have pulled up stakes and left Russia altogether. The Russian economy has been battered by Western sanctions imposed by nations that are no longer buying its key exports, including oil and natural gas.