[ Elena Filitovich ]A prostitute is a sexually attractive girl
who knows what she wants and won't be led by empty words of love.
[ Olesya Malibu ]Money is a weakness!
[ Lola Taylor ]I've done it all myself.
[ Lola ]Sorry, but some can't earn money with this, but I really have.
[ Lev Shcheglov ]It always starts:
'Come on! Just try it! It's a thrill! It's cool! You just don't get it!
Yes, just once!' and so on.
[ Karine Gevorgyan ]What is it? Moral degradation? Yes, without a doubt!
[ Valentina Znak ]No young woman ever says it's easy money.
[ Valentina ] All are morally damaged by it.
[ Valentina ] They're all pushed there by some difficult circumstances.
PRICE OF VICE PART TWO
[ VO ]In Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs keeps tabs
on - quote women with lowered social responsibility unquote
— meaning, prostitutes. Numbers are estimated by those
held on administrative charges and rarely criminal ones.
[ IRINA VOLK OFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON, RUSSIAN MIA ]In 2019, more
than 580 crimes related to prostitution were recorded in Russia
[ Irina ]Of these, more than 470 cases were resolved, and over 600 persons involved were identified
[ VO ]Many escape the radar, of course. So, it’s impossible to be accurate about
the precise number of prostitutes in Russia. Experts say, approximately 1.5 to
4 million… Writers, artists and film directors, following classical creative
impulses, explore and try to bare the soul of the modern lady of the night.
[ Lola ]I paint...
[ Lola ]They're a little autobiographical...
[ VO ]The life story of the porn actress, known as Lola Taylor, began in
the small town of Ishim in the Urals. She was born Lyuba Bushuyeva.
[ VO ]After her mother’s tragic death, she was brought up by her grandparents. Her first job was in a local
library. This is where Lyuba became an avid reader: her favourite writers were Dostoyevsky and Nabokov.
[ Lola ]OK, I've over done it!
[ VO ]The next page of her biography takes us to Yekaterinburg, where she trained
to be a passenger conductor on the railways. An idea that didn’t work out…
[ VO ]Lyuba was destitute. To make ends meet, she began working as a
masseuse in a massage parlour. It was a turning point in her life.
[ VLADIMIR ZAZHMILIN EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER, 'THE COUNTRY’S FUTURE' FOUNDATION ]Until
recently, sex services ads littered everything, from bus stops to sidewalks.
[ Vladimir ]For example, ads for massage services or adult cafes.
[ Vladimir ]There are a lot of establishments of that sort in Moscow, and Russia in general.
[ Irina ]In Krasnoyarsk Region, police and the National Guard carried
out a special operation that shut down an organised gang of 17
people. 44 women providing intimate services in Krasnoyarsk massage
parlours had been drawn into prostitution by the defendants.
[ VO ]Dozens of mobile phones, SIM-cards… computer hardware… sex work adverts… and illegal weapons
were found and confiscated by the police. A
criminal case was opened, which is on going.
[ Valentina ]In this case, prostitution was organized
at saunas, bath houses, and hotels.
[ Valentina ]So, there were no specific individual salons where they worked on a permanent basis
[ VALENTINA ZNAK DEPUTY HEAD, INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT, KRASNOYARSK REGION ]But, this specific case aside,
such activities can be hidden behind massage parlours, under hookah bars…
[ VO ]Massage parlours and other adult-only venues first appeared in Russia in the late 90’s, and
immediately gained popularity in the capital, and in fact all over the country. Although
prostitution is illegal in Russia, there’s never been any shortage of sex workers, anywhere you
care to mention. Apart from the parlours, saunas and bars, there are also numerous strip clubs.
[ YURY RYAZANOV FOUNDER, ‘THE COUNTRY’S FUTURE’ FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT ]We have
not one, not two, but dozens of strip clubs in the centre of Moscow, where girls work completely naked.
[ Yuri ]What's funny is that, in legal terms, they aren't technically naked, as they have a money pouch.
[ Yuri ]A girl comes up and says: 'Do you want to spend an hour or two with me?
[ Yuri ]It'll be a bit more than the entry fee, about $150. Want some? No problem!'
[ Yuri ]Strip clubs have special VIP rooms equipped with beds.
[ Yuri ]So, it's really a brothel.
[ VO ]People regularly rate cities, noting the highest prices for Triple-X services.
[ Driver ]Invariably, St. Petersburg and Moscow top the list, with Krasnoyarsk at the bottom.
[ Driver ]We're located on Gruntovaya Street in the city of Krasnoyarsk.
[ Driver ]People come here who don't want to waste time searching for women of easy virtue.
[ Driver ]There are cars with several girls in them parked along almost the entire road.
[ Driver ]First post.
[ Driver ]Some more cars.
[ Driver ]Here's the third post.
[ Driver ]Each of these little spots is reserved for someone.
[ Driver ]So, like with taxi drivers, you can't encroach on someone else's turf.
[ Driver ]Here on the left you can see a van that usually has 5 prostitutes sitting in it.
[ Driver ]You can drive up and choose whichever you like.
[ Driver ]The average price is $20, and they offer full-fledged sex!
[ Driver ]You go to an apartment or a sauna.
[ Driver ]They have some arrangement with an apartment or sauna and tell you where to go.
[ Valentina ]You can't charge women
for just standing on the street.
[ Valentina ]We can also go stand on the street, and we won't be held criminally responsible.
[ Valentina ]You can't charge someone for prostitution based on hearsay.
[ Valentina ]It all must be documented and confirmed through an active investigation.
[ Client ]Hello! How much is opium for the masses?
[ Woman ]Hey Hercules!
[ Woman ]What do you want?
[ Client ]Tenderness and caresses [ Woman ] Sure thing, on the house!
[ Client ]How much for a night?
[ Woman ]Let's see, it's $90 for 4 hours.
[ Woman ]Well if we even take $15 an hour, from 12 to, say, 6 in
the morning, that's 6 hours. Well, I think $100 would be OK.
[ Client ]Yeah, that's fine.
[ Vladimir ]This business is growing, and, at least in Moscow, we already don't see girls on the
streets or roadsides anymore, like 15 years ago when they stood on Kutuzovsky Prospect.
[ Vladimir ]Now it's all acquired the form of business.
[ LEV SCHEGLOV PROFESSOR, SEXOLOGIST, PSYCHOTHERAPIST ]Prostitution has not always been condemned by society.
[ Lev ]The whole history began with so-called prostitution of hospitality.
[ Lev ]When people lived in tribes, clans, and small groups.
[ Lev ]Then came sacred prostitution...
[ Lev ]And it was only after these types of prostitution
that so-called economic prostitution emerged.
[ VO ]Prostitution has existed for at least 2,000 years. They say it’s the oldest profession. Over
this time, a thriving commercial sex industry has developed, which has long since crossed
all boundaries. Sociologists are trying to uncover the phenomenon’s secrets and understand
its scope. Thanks to numerous studies, we can now divide sex workers into categories.
[ VO ]All these women sell their bodies. But there is a distinction between them. They clearly
outline their boundaries and associated prices for services rendered. They start as
streetwalkers, and progress to brothels and strip clubs, each of them dreaming of finding
their prince. And they all think, the higher their price tag, the better their chances are.
[ Lola ]What a bod!
[ Lola ]A very, very nice figure
[ VO ]Lyuba Bushuyeva went through tough times at the massage
parlour, and also ditched her dream of becoming a train conductor.
[ LOLA TAYLOR PORN ACTRESS, ARTIST ]I watched a lot of porn and I really liked it, so I realised I needed to go into this
[ Lola ]I looked for an agency for a long time, some 3 months.
[ Lola ]I finally found one and started working.
[ VO ]Our adventurer wound up in Budapest, of all the world’s capitals!
[ VO ]Which shortly after the fall of communism became one of the European
porn industry’s main hubs. Lyuba spent a few years there, and acted
in a number of group-sex and hardcore scenes for porn producers.
[ Lola ]I once had 184 men at the same time.
[ Lola ]We shot it in 4 days, so I fibbed a bit.
[ Lola ]That was in four days.
[ VO ]The new industry became a goldmine for many… but not for
Lyuba. Despite of all her efforts, big-name porn studios eluded the
aspiring porn star. She didn’t manage to make enough money and
she returned to Russia, but under a different name: Lola Taylor.
[ Lola ]There's not much money in it.
[ Lola ]I even made more at the massage parlour.
[ Lola ]There, you could make $150 in a day and do nothing.
[ Lola ]But in porn, you get €400 per shoot, but you have to pay for tickets,
the hotel, the tests, and the driver, and, at the end of the day, there's nothing left
[ VO ]Today, prostitution is on a huge and global scale. The sex industry’s illegal
side generates revenues equal to those of drug traffickers and arms smugglers.
[ Lev ]Half, sometimes more, of the revenue goes to the organisers
and those who revolve around this business
[ Lev ]Let's say, the security, the pimps, the drivers
[ Lev ]They all feed off the money that comes from the clients
[ VO ]Prostitution is forbidden in most countries, but there are still
many where it’s legal and regulated. Being a prostitute in Russia
is not considered a penal offence, but inciting or forcing someone
into prostitution, and keeping brothels, are penal offences.
[ VO ]The investigation of the Krasnoyarsk brothel network has been underway for two
years. During this time, the investigators have been gathering evidence and planning
arrests. They now have all the proof they need. They know the names of everyone
involved, their profiles, how they built their empire and recruited their victims.
[ Valentina ]The group had at least 5 levels of hierarchy,
[ VALENTINA ZNAK DEPUTY HEAD, INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT, KRASNOYARSK REGION ]each of which directly answered
to its superiors. We can't disclose the hierarchy itself due to the secrecy of the investigation,
[ Valentina ]but I think the term 'private meeting' speaks for itself!
[ Valentina ]The word 'enforcers' also speaks for itself.
[ Valentina ]So, that's a group that provided security and manpower if needed.
[ Valentina ]There are different kinds of people involved,
depending on the structure and the hierarchy.
[ Valentina ]The higher the position, the more
communicative, organised, and educated they are.
[ VO ]The law considers women providing sex services in this kind of hierarchy as victims. They’re
the ones who face the challenges and the consequences of choosing to become a prostitute.
[ David ]Let me tell you a story from my own life.
[ DAVID SHNEIDEROV FILM CRITIC ]I rented a flat on Tverskaya back in the day, on Alexander Nevsky Lane
[ David ]Fallen girls stood on four corners of Tverskaya,
and there were two vans parked right by the entrance to my flat that were their home base,
where their madams sat.
[ David ]They'd all come from the far corners of Russia in the hope of taking Moscow by storm…
of achieving something.
[ David ]They came to Moscow, and where did they go?
[ David ]Into retail!
[ David ]After a month, 90% were short of cash
[ David ]Then the owner said: 'Lift your skirt and bend over'.
[ Lev ]People who are predisposed to this kind of activity,
first of all, have a weak set of values concerning
what one should and shouldn't do, can and cannot do,
and on good and evil, so to speak.
[ Lev ]In parallel to this basic quality,
difficult life situations always push and stimulate:
a lack of money, lack of job, the serious illness of a loved one
[ Lev ]The main factor is that it's precisely in a difficult life situation
that Galya will go into the sexual services market,
and Tanya will take a second job mopping floors at night
[ VO ]In the mid-90’s, this leggy blonde was the toast of Moscow high society.
[ VO ]Musicians, actors, and politicians all sought her attention, and scattered diamonds, cars, and apartments at her feet.
[ ELENA BOND MODEL, SINGER ]I'm very beautiful, and my beauty has always attracted the attention of men.
[ Elena ]They've always been around.
[ Elena ]I came from Tashkent when I was 18 and became a model.
[ Elena ]I was 18.
[ Elena ]With the help of friends, I was offered an audition.
[ Elena ]I passed the qualifying round,
and, out of 100 contenders, I became Miss Moscow '99
[ VO ]The crown of Moscow’s beauties cost her sponsor $25,000… Admiring
glances, star company, a luxurious mansion with staff in Rublyovka,
her first music videos, the birth of her son… Life couldn’t be
better, it seemed… Until the master grew bored of his pretty toy…
[ Elena ]When our relationship ended, I was left with a helicopter, a Mercedes, and a flat on Kutuzovsky Prospect.
[ Elena ]Lived our days and nights above the clouds!
[ Elena ]I went on with my career, recorded songs in the studio,
and also made music videos
[ VO ]But without heavy investment, all her talents were rendered useless. Except for one…
[ Elena ]I met Valov the producer.
[ Elena ]He invited me to take part in an erotic film called 'Yulia'.
[ Elena ]I got the lead role right away.
[ Elena ]The film came out great!
[ Elena ]A very funny political comedy.
[ Elena ]They're beautiful!
[ VO ]But critics had a different opinion of the film. The notoriety Yelena gained with this film meant her Cinderella
story ended in ashes. And life became different… no helicopters or mansions. Desperate attempts at finding
another patron resulted in the birth of her second child… more disappointment, and finally mental breakdown.
[ VO ]She faded from TV screens and her phone went silent. Journalists tracked her down to a psychiatric hospital.
[ VO ]Lyuba Bushuyeva, a former librarian and a might-have-been train conductor, decided Europe hadn’t lived up to
expectations. She hadn’t become a famous porn star. All she’d got were some sad experiences and the flashy name
of Lola Taylor. She decided to have a break and went down to the South with a friend. Disaster followed! She
met a young man on the Internet, and they arranged a rendezvous, nothing work-related, just a normal date.
[ Lola ]Not everything revolves around money! We just wanted to have fun.
[ VO ]Instead of a romantic dinner, Lyuba found two aggressive men waiting for her. They beat and
raped her the whole night! It was only in the morning that she managed to escape through a window.
I jumped out the window because they'd been raping me and wouldn't let me go.
I even broke a bone.
[ VO ]The rendezvous resulted in a broken hipbone, and Lyuba had to undergo trauma
surgery. But the rapists didn’t get away with it — they got 8 years in prison.
[ Lev ]It destroys the psyche, these are sad people
[ Lev ]She's done with prostitution, she wants
to expunge it from her memory, but during
embraces or intimacy, not the best of those
hundreds and maybe even thousands of trysts
that she'd had working as a prostitute involuntarily come to mind.
[ Lev ]This is a big wound!
[ Lev ]It requires a course of treatment with a psychologist and a psychotherapist.
[ Lev ]This is very deep trauma!
[ VO ]After all her ups and downs, Miss Moscow ’99 is looking for some support in her life. Her
new companion is much younger, and can’t buy her a helicopter, but at least he’s around. For now…
[ ARTYOM PETROV MODEL ]I come from the Urals.
[ Artem ]I came to Moscow to get a job, and got work dancing at a nightclub
[ Artem ]I've worked as an escort too. Easy money beckoned back then.
[ Artem ]Then, by chance, I met Elena.
[ Elena ]He wrote to me on VKontakte,
and I accepted his invitation to a meeting.
[ Elena ]We met in a park.
[ Artem ]When we met, I immediately saw she needed help, and I wanted to be better for her sake.
[ Artem ]With Elena, it's very easy for me because she's very kind and good.
[ Elena ]He's a very confident young man.
[ Elena ]He loves me,
and I love him
[ VO ]Their careers are brief. And there’s no retirement pension! So, at some point,
each of them has to acknowledge the elephant in the room: what to do next?
[ Lola ]Here's a picture I did.
[ Lola ]This one's not dry yet.
[ Lola ]It's not dry, and it's a little screwed up, to be honest.
[ VO ]Before her ill-fated rendezvous, during a visit to Amsterdam, Van Gogh’s
works, and his hard life, had captured Lyuba’s imagination. She started dabbling in
painting. When she was in a hospital, her desire to paint blossomed in full
force. She says she’s looking for harmony in her work but hasn’t found it yet.
[ Lola ]I've been fortunate in many ways, but truth be told, I have no feeling of harmony.
[ Lola ]These are like scarecrows for me.
[ Lola ]I believe they keep the evil spirits away.
[ Lola ]I go on living, I don't want to bury myself, sit and brood because of this situation.
[ Lola ]I'll go on with my life.
[ Lola ]I wanted to open a showroom.
[ Lola ]But a man blocked the Instagram account where I sold my art to settle a score, so it didn't work out
[ VO ]Breaking a vicious circle is very hard. People are unwilling to forego money-spinning
ways. Profit motives hold them back, and for many, making a U-turn in life is unrealistic.
[ Lev ]Few prostitutes understand what a
humiliated and disenfranchised position they're in.
[ Lev ]How does this affect the psyche?
[ Lev ]It does so every day!
[ Lev ]And, in the end, even the most clueless person completely loses their self-esteem
because they understand they are not a person,
but some kind of object that is used, as
we use a fork, spoon, plate, or toilet paper.
[ KARINE GEVORGYAN POLITICAL ANALYST, EASTERN SCHOLAR ]To what extent is human dignity degraded here?
[ Karine ]The question arises:
Can a person trade his dignity and convert it into income,
or into bags, or into money, etc.?
[ Karine ]This is simply a moral question…
a solely moral question.
[ Karine ]There are people who'd never do that under any circumstances.
[ VO ]Dramas about the lives of prostitutes are a favorite subject with many writers and film directors.
[ Yury ]You know the film Pretty Woman?
[ YURY RYAZANOV FOUNDER, ‘THE COUNTRY’S FUTURE’ FOUNDATION FOR
SOCIAL SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT ]Super bad movie, super high-quality,
super corrupting. That started it all. When a girl from an escort
agency falls in love with her partner, and everything is wonderful.
[ Yury ]It's a very bad film, couldn't be worse
[ Yury ]If, after that, an army of girls take the path to perdition, then
the people who were behind it... they won't need this money
[ Yury ]As they say: What will you take with you when you're gone, to eternity?
[ Yury ]You won't take money.
[ Yury ]You must be responsible for what you have brought to society by your own actions
[ Elena ]Well, I'm recording new songs now.
[ Elena ]I want to release a new album.
[ Lola ]I've had enough! It's time for children. I think I'd make an ideal mum.
[ David ]These girls arouse a gigantic amount of human sympathy because society is largely to blame.
[ David ]They are not to blame, they are unhappy.
[ David ]Their society has driven them into a trap,
and, because of their lack of intelligence, education, and money,
they, unfortunately, choose the easiest… to use a bad
hackneyed term: 'path to perdition' And we pity them.