Archive / Overview
Last updated May 6, 2026
Credits
Vladyslav Novikov
Journalist · author of the site
Alexey Gubanov
Dataset provider · key contributor

Independent evidence archive assembled and reviewed by the author. Core dataset provided with the participation of Alexey Gubanov. Each case is manually structured, tagged and signed — not an auto-generated database.

Independent investigative archive · Document #001

Russia's Alabuga recruitment network lived on YouTube for years — even after U.S. sanctions*

From 2022 through 2026, Russian creators helped carry a state-linked recruitment campaign for Alabuga Polytech across YouTube — selling education, careers and opportunity to young audiences as an entry point into the Alabuga ecosystem. U.S. Treasury sanctioned SEZ Alabuga, linked it to Geran-2 / Shahed-type UAV production, and stated that students from an affiliated polytechnic university were used to assemble attack drones.

* U.S. sanctions refer to SEZ Alabuga and related sanctions materials, not necessarily every entity using the Alabuga brand.

  • 606 collected URLs
  • 527 locally archived videos
  • 448 structured evidence cases
  • 320 channels
  • 79 unavailable, private or removed videos

Channel subscriber counts are non-unique snapshots from local archive metadata, not unique reach.

Built for journalists, platform teams, sanctions lawyers, compliance reviewers and U.S. and EU policymakers.

Last updated 2026-05-06 Scope 2022 – 2026 Build v01 · MVP Author Vladyslav Novikov
§ 01 — The pattern

The pattern

The campaign's strength was its disguise. Alabuga Polytech was sold to young audiences as education, salaries and a future career — not as a route into a sanctioned war-production ecosystemUSEUUK.

Russian YouTube creators carried that pitch as ordinary content: vlogs, gaming streams and lifestyle integrations. The point was not open military recruitment; it was normalization through trusted creators.

The timeline is the scandal. OFAC sanctioned SEZ Alabuga in February 2024OFAC — promotion continued, as documented in this archive's 2022–2026 evidence setEvidence. EU measures targeting Russian special economic zones expanded in October 2025EU — promotion continued. U.S. Treasury had already described students from an affiliated polytechnic university being used to assemble attack dronesTreasury — promotion still continued.

After Twitch's 2026 ban wave over Alabuga promotionsTwitch, scrutiny moved to YouTube: users and journalists identified hundreds of Russian creators who had promoted the same ecosystemYouTube. Soon after, videos from that record began disappearing, being edited, made private or removed from public viewArchive. This archive preserves the public record that began to disappear — and shows a recruitment system that can no longer be dismissed as isolated creator content.

If this case is ignored, Moscow gets the lesson: the model worked.
§ 03 — Scale of the archive

What did we find and preserve?

A snapshot of the archive in 2026.

Snapshot 2026
  1. 01 606 Collected YouTube links
  2. 02 527 Videos preserved locally
  3. 03 396 Videos with Alabuga-related evidence
  4. 04 448 Priority evidence excerpts
849
Evidence fragments found
320
Channels in the archive
79
Removed / private / unavailable videos
211,424,858
Combined views of evidence-positive videos
§ 04 — Channel Wall

Highest-subscriber channels in the archive

View all 320
Videos from these channels appear in the preserved archive. Not all videos are confirmed paid promotions; archived integrations vary in form, including sponsored segments, organic mentions, contest or tournament references, and recruitment-style language.
HI

HiMan

Subs
19,500,000
Videos
1
Cases
4
Top
3

Snapshot Apr 28, 2026

LI

LITVIN

Subs
13,100,000
Videos
1
Cases
2
Top
1

Snapshot Apr 28, 2026

BA

BATEK_OFFICIAL

Subs
8,520,000
Videos
2
Cases
4
Top
3

Snapshot Apr 28, 2026

ДГ

Дима Гордей

Subs
7,980,000
Videos
4
Cases
10
Top
5

Snapshot Apr 28, 2026

Dачник

Subs
7,300,000
Videos
2
Cases
5
Top
3

Snapshot Apr 28, 2026

LM

Lesha Maisak

Subs
7,120,000
Videos
1
Cases
2
Top
1

Snapshot Apr 28, 2026

МФ

МЯТНАЯ ФАНТА

Subs
6,950,000
Videos
1
Cases
1
Top
0

Snapshot Apr 28, 2026

ДЮ

Дюшес

Subs
6,880,000
Videos
1
Cases
2
Top
1

Snapshot Apr 28, 2026

§ 05 — Compact preview

Browse more evidence

Browse all 448
Case
Channel
Quote
Markers
Duration
Action
EV-00427
Веля
самостоятельный говорит Мама я поеду в Алабуга Политех такой взрослый
Alabuga linkMetadata-only link
1m 23s
Open
EV-00803
Dobryak
игру а что если я скажу что такое сейчас уже есть Алабуга Политех я сам съездил и
Alabuga linkRecruitment language
4m 49s
Open
EV-00627
Макс Иванов - Про бизнес и инвестиции
Алабуга Политех интервью с её руководителем руководителя зовут Эдуард
Alabuga linkRecruitment language
4m 39s
Open
EV-00654
SHAMPANOV
одном крутом учебном заведении Я хочу рассказать уже сейчас Алабуга Политех
Alabuga linkRecruitment language
2m 01s
Open
EV-00542
ZeeMan
технологиям Хотя подождите-ка я знаю одно такое место Алабуга Политех - это
Alabuga linkRecruitment language
2m 20s
Open
EV-00483
Ric
получить высшее образование Извини мам Я поступаю в Алабуга Политех заниматься
Alabuga linkMetadata-only link
1m 23s
Open
EV-00012
Cadrol&Fatich
команду лучшей в России особой экономической зоны Алабуга что же к нам
Alabuga linkSalary / compensation
57s
Open
EV-00635
GentlemaN
по подготовке инженерных кадров индустрии 4.0 Алабуга политек ведёт
Alabuga linkRecruitment language
2m 37s
Open
§ 06 — Editorial scope

What this archive does not claim

This archive does not claim that every video was paid promotion. It does not claim that every creator knew the full military context. It does not make a final legal determination. It preserves structured evidence for review.

§ 07 — Next views

Continue into the archive