Smuta promo artist sued developers - he worked for several years without an employment contract
The action-RPG "Smuta" is back in the news. This time, the reason was a lawsuit filed by a former employee.
The author of the YouTube channel "Lawyer FM" drew attention to a lawsuit against "OOO Siberia Nova" — the creators of the sensational action-RPG "Smuta". It was filed by a person who worked for more than 2 years as a promo artist.
Dmitry started working in 2023 and did not have a military ID, so a civil law contract (GPH) was concluded with him, and every few months he was sent documents for signing. In July 2025, the documents stopped arriving, but he continued to work and was still paid regularly.
The blogger noted that in 2024, Dmitry restored his military ID — its absence was an obstacle to full employment — however, after asking to be formally employed, "he was given the runaround, and in the end, they completely forgot about him."
In February 2026, the employer called and stated that Dmitry was fired — the artist did not receive "any severance pay, no compensation for [unused] vacation, nothing."
After that, the artist, through the "online inspection" service, demanded that his relationship with "OOO Siberia Nova" be recognized as employment, but was refused.
"Lawyer FM" studied the lawsuit and explained how the promo artist proves why he believes his case is "employment relations" and not GPH.
For example, there were mandatory planning meetings (a true freelancer does not attend them unless there is a separate fee for it); there is a clear work schedule, not just "deadlines" for submitting work — fixed hours of presence at the workplace were established; there was a vacation schedule, i.e., "social guarantees."
The company provided a comment — representatives emphasized that they had paid taxes and insurance contributions. They are currently conducting an internal audit of "all circumstances of the appeal, including the status of the final reporting, to ensure there are no misunderstandings":
Cooperation with Dmitry Solyanik-Krasa was carried out within the framework of civil law contracts (GPH) and was related to the implementation of marketing tasks for the "Smuta" and "Zemsky Sobor" projects. This format of interaction was chosen by the parties as the most optimal, including taking into account the performer's location in a different time zone, which made integration into the company's standard work schedule difficult. For its part, the company provided all conditions for the performance of work and the recording of its results in accordance with the terms of the contract. It is important to note that within the framework of GPH, the company fully fulfilled its obligations to pay all taxes and insurance contributions, the amount of which is identical to deductions under an employment contract.
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