The concept of forced labor in Russian legislation and international conventions is explored, it is proposed to include in the definition given in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation a sign of the absence of a person's voluntary will to perform work. The Russian judicial practice on the qualification of forced labor is analyzed. Unpaid work as the most common form of forced labor is investigated. Forms of forced labor that are not directly established in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, violations of the prohibition on forced labor by the state and forms of such labor, as well as types of work that courts refuse to classify forced labor established.