Hidden treasures: Kladmen (The Dropman)

Russia’s laws on drug possession and trafficking are among the strictest, and the penalties reflect it. As a result, the Russian drug trade works differently than in the West. Instead of dealer and buyer meeting, a кладмен (scribbler) hides the package for the customer to find. Spoiler: it often goes wrong.

Hide and seek

The kladman often has to search as well – for suitable and always new places and ways to hide the goods. Preferably in such manner that they can easily be found by the customer, but not by those who don’t know. The real risk is getting caught (although not everyone is impressed); a disaster – at least for the kladmen – is getting caught by the police. This can easily be a ticket to seven, ten, or thirteen years in prison.

Hiding can look like this or like this. Searching like this, or this, and like this in groups. Inevitably, the hidden treasures hidden get discovered by the wrong person. At the bus station or in the elevator, for instance.

Kladmen Documentaries

Кладмен (2018)

In this mini-documentary (9 m), a disguised кладмен explains how the job is done. With English subtitles (via Settings). Directed by Влад Нечитаев (Vlad Nechitaev).

Данный фильм не является пропагандой употребления наркотических веществ в каком-либо виде: this film is not intended to promote the use of narcotics in any way.

Закладка and Закладчики (2024)

More, and more extensive, in Закладка (Balgabayev Doc, 2024, 53 m) and in Закладчики (QZ Media, 2024, 47 m).

Kladmen and Narcotics in Short Movies

In the five-minute film Соль. Любой ценой (Salt. At any cost), the characters are frantically searching for the klad. Соль in this context isn’t regular or table salt, but a drug related to mephedrone. More on this substance at Vice (2020) and on Wikipedia (RU). Also see Самая соль: новые виды наркотиков привлекли все группы населения (Iz.ru, 2018), and watch this документальный фильм from 2022.

Наркотики вредят не только вам, но и вашим близким: narcotics not only harm you but also your loved ones. Can confirm.

ISS Art Media, 2017, 5 m.
English subtitled (via Settings).

More short films on Kladmen

The amateur production История кладмена (Vlagod, 2020, 5 min) comes with subtitles in Russian. Закладка (Simon Cope, 2019, 7 m) even has them in English (sign in first). With many other short films, you”ll have to do without subtitles.

• Короткометражный фильм “Закладчик” (Kek&Yoki, 2020, 5 m)
• Закладчик наркотиков короткометражный фильм (Top 5, 2020, 11 m)
• Короткометражный Фильм-Закладчик (Flørdîlíån, 2019, 9 m)
• Кладмен Короткометражный фильм (Joly Tech, 2019, 12 m)
• Короткометражный фильм “Кладмен” (Almatonsky Dawn Studio, 2019, 5 m)
• Короткометражный фильм “Закладчица” (Umberto Omerta, 2015, 12 m)

More short films – with subtitles – can be found in this R1 playlist Short Russian Movies.

Kladmen interviews

• Кладman | интервью с закладчиком (Проект Выжившие, 2022, 24 m)
• Исповедь Кладмена | Закладчик | Гидра (Теневик, 2021, 24 m)
• Кладмен интервью | закладчик | курьер кура кладмэн 18+ (Муха Восемь, 2020, 52 m)
• Исповедь кладмена. Закладчик, которого не поймали (Люди PRO, 2019, 55 m)

Language: the Word кладмен

A клад (klad) is a treasure, as in treasure chest and treasure hunting. A кладмен (sometimes кладмэн) or закладчик is the person who makes закладки (also the word for bookmarks). More about the word кладмен on модные-слова and Wiktionary (RU).

Russia’s Legislation on Narcotics

Watch Russia’s Strict Drug Laws (NFKRZ, 2019, 11 m) and Russia: The War on Drugs (DW News, 2016, 7 m). Read:

• A Change in Russia’s Draconian Drug Laws Could Be on the Horizon (The Moscow Times, 2019)
• Putin says he’s against relaxing Russia’s drug laws (Meduza, 2019)
• Drug addiction in Russia: Draconian laws instead of help (DW, 2019)

More Kladmen

Watch

• Как Ловят Закладчиков | Кладмен | Гидра (Теневик, 2021, 15 m)
• How drug dealers sell drugs in Russia (Crazy Russian Sergey, 2020, 12 m)
• Доза. История кладмена (region22alt, 2020, 5 m)
• Кладмен. Сколько может заработать закладчик (Паша Хейтер, 2020, 8 m)
• Закладки. По факту (iRyston TV, 2018, 12 m).

Read

• Russian Drug Users Describe Life and Trends During the Pandemic (Filter, 2020)
• A New Breed of Drug Dealer Has Turned Buying Drugs into a Treasure Hunt (Vice, 2020)

last edited December 10, 2025