A Russian construction worker from the Urals sewed his mouth shut and declared a hunger strike on Thursday (October 17) in protest of two months of unpaid wages he said he is owed for work in Sochi, according to a Russian blog.

In a video shot on Thursday (October 17) and posted on blogsochi.ru, Roman Kuznetsov stood outside of the media centre in the future Olympic village and held a sign calling on the company that hired him to pay him his wages.

Off camera, a voice on the video asks "How many months have you not been paid? Show me with your fingers," and Kuznetsov shows two fingers.

"They just conned me. They left yesterday," Kuznetsov said, through lips fastened with two stitches.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is gearing up to showcase the country he has led for nearly 14 years at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics in February, but many migrant labourers from inside Russia and from former Soviet states who are building the venues say they have been deprived of fair wages, according to Human Rights Watch.

Presented by Adam Justice