Mines Die, Dust Remains

In Russia’s Kemerovo Oblast, historically tied to coal mining, underground mines are shutting down one after the other. In 2025 alone, 17 coal enterprises closed, thousands of workers were laid off, and companies edged toward bankruptcy. The collapse has been driven by sanctions, falling global demand and prices, rising transportation costs, and years of poor management. Regional authorities say coal production could fall this year to its lowest level in two decades. But even as the industry sinks deeper into crisis, open-pit coal mining continues to operate, bringing jobs for some and worsening pollution for everyone else.

Journalists from the independent Russian outlet Kedr traveled across Kemerovo Oblast to report on how mining communities are coping with the collapse of underground coal mines and why the environmental costs of coal extraction continue to grow.

The city of Prokopyevsk, home to about 170,000, is known locally as the "Black Pearl." Coal extraction began there shortly after the Russian Civil War, and the city itself was founded in 1921. Once packed with mines, Prokopyevsk has steadily declined. Its last operating underground mine closed in 2019. Today, two open-pit coal mines remain on the city’s outskirts.

Mining has always been dangerous, residents say, but the greater fear now is losing relatively well-paid work. Ordinary miners earn about R80,000 rubles ($1,100) a month, while supervisors make around R120,000 ($1,650).

Bogdan, a lifelong miner, said the crisis has left people paralyzed. "People see everything collapsing, but they don’t know what to do," he said. "Most people don’t know any work besides mining. I’m only now starting to think about a Plan B — maybe learning to install windows or air conditioners. Then maybe moving away."

Olesya left Prokopyevsk a decade ago for nearby Novokuznetsk, a city of more than half a million. At first, she said, the city felt friendlier and more optimistic than her hometown, which was already deteriorating. Now, she says, the mood there has darkened too.

Olesya once worked at an open-pit coal mine but quit after seeing the environmental damage it caused. Open-pit mining is considered especially harmful because coal dust contaminates water, soil, and vegetation. Underground mines are less damaging but far more expensive to operate, making them especially vulnerable during downturns.

Olesya later took a job at an underground mine, cutting her salary in half. Now, even that income may disappear. "They say the mine could close," she said. "It’s old and mostly exhausted. I recently took out a mortgage because I wanted stability and a future here. Now I’m thinking about where I’ll have to move."

Another Novokuznetsk resident, Vladimir, said companies have begun squeezing workers harder. Schedules that once ran two days on, two days off have become three days on, one day off.

According to Vladimir, employers are deliberately worsening conditions to push miners to quit voluntarily rather than pay severance. Those who leave often take rotational jobs in other regions or join Russia's War on Ukraine, he said.

Even amid the industry downturn, open-pit mines continue expanding. In the village of Alexeyevka, about 30 kilometers from Novokuznetsk, one mine now sits just 196 meters from homes.

Coal dust remains a major concern. Doctors say it contributes to lung disease and cancer, while mortality rates in the region are several years higher than the Russian average.

"Open-pit mines are our disaster," said Alexander Kolmagorov, a coal industry expert and technical sciences researcher. He said independent studies found that emissions from one open-pit mine near Novokuznetsk increased cancer rates in the city by 40%.

Anton Lementuyev, an analyst with Green Think Tank, said the coal crisis is unlikely to improve the region’s environmental conditions because it primarily affects underground mines. At the same time, open-pit operations remain profitable due to domestic demand.

"When money is scarce," he said, "the environment becomes the last priority."