Chinese Worker Arrested by Russian Police; Thousands Surround Police Car in Support, Worker Released

A conflict recently occurred at a construction site in Ust-Luga, a Russian seaport. The incident started when a Chinese worker, whose wages had been withheld, was arrested by the police, immediately sparking dissatisfaction among about a thousand workers who surrounded and blocked the police car. In the end, Russian police released the detained worker.

Reports on the 13th indicated that the incident happened on the 9th, at the construction site of the "Baltic Gas Chemical Complex," located in the port city of Ust-Luga, about 160 kilometers from the major Russian city of St. Petersburg. The site is being built by the China National Chemical Engineering No. 7 Construction Company. On that day, a Chinese worker had suffered from long-term wage arrears and, after repeated attempts to retrieve his salary, received no solution.

The Chinese worker, allegedly after drinking alcohol, had a conflict with site management. Holding long-standing grievances over unpaid wages, he verbally insulted the management. The site managers called the police. Soon after, Russian police officers carrying long guns arrived at the scene, forcibly broke into the dormitory, arrested the worker, and escorted him to the police car.

At that time, someone suspected to be site management shouted in Chinese, "Police are enforcing the law, stop filming, stop filming," which triggered dissatisfaction among many of the Chinese workers on site. The workers quickly gathered in the direction of the police car, surrounding it. According to local sources in St. Petersburg, more than 1,000 Chinese workers assembled at the scene.

The Chinese workers on site refused to let the police take away their compatriot. Some yelled at the police, others live-streamed the incident or sang the national anthem. The Russian police car could not move forward at all, and in the end, the arrested worker was released on the spot.