Shopping Malls in Central Russia Converted Into Drone Plants

According to local activists, a shopping mall in the Russian city of Izhevsk will undergo conversion into a drone production facility, marking the third instance of such repurposing in the city over the past year.

The Udmurtia Protiv Korruptsii (Udmurtia Against Corruption) activist group revealed that the Stolitsa shopping mall in Izhevsk was recently purchased by the Russian drone manufacturer Aeroscan. Tenants of the mall have been notified that their leases will be terminated by Oct. 15.

Last year, Aeroscan bought another mall in Izhevsk and ordered tenants to vacate the premises by Jan. 31, 2023, as reported by local media.

A petition on change.org, opposing the conversion of the mall into drone production, warned of the potential risk of placing hazardous production in a densely populated residential area.

In a similar vein, it was reported by activists last week that the shopping mall Novyi Dom was bought by the drone manufacturer Izhevsk Unmanned Systems Research and Production Company (IZHBS).

Another change.org petition criticized this purchase, stating that “defense companies that are unable to build their own facilities simply repurpose civilian structures for their needs.”

IZHBS, which is currently under Western sanctions, has been actively recruiting engineers and other workers from across the city.

Meanwhile, Nikita Zakharov, the owner of Aeroscan and son of Alexander Zakharov, the co-owner of the Lancet kamikaze drone manufacturer, had previously proposed the idea of converting shopping malls into drone production facilities as early as 2020, according to local media.

Zakharov revisited his initial proposal last year after Western brands vacated Russian malls as part of a mass corporate exodus in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Following Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s state media watchdog blocked access to the website of Udmurtia Against Corruption and its Vkontakte page.