Russian store robot ‘kicks’ customer who shoved it

A customer walks up to a humanoid robot named Syoma inside Volga Store 64 in Saratov, Russia, tries a handshake, then shoves it. Syoma responds with a kicking motion. Staff members run up to it and turn it off. This clip, which dates back to September 2, 2026, has been doing rounds since then, but nothing has been said by someone who was aware of what took place.

Behind all this speculation, there are only very few confirmed facts. Syoma was working as a tech consultant in the store.

The video proves that Syoma got shoved and kicked and that staff members ran to him. No one has confirmed whether it was just a malfunction or a stunt.

Humanoid robots build in reflex and stabilisation phases that trigger automatically when they're physically disturbed. Carnegie Mellon robotics research describes this pattern directly: an initial reflex followed by a recovery phase once an external force hits the machine.

A shove could trigger exactly that kind of rapid leg motion, mechanically closer to catching your balance on ice than anything resembling retaliation.

Recovery reflexes explain the motion. They don't explain why it wasn't contained. Collaborative robotics safety guidance, including VDMA standards for human-robot interaction, calls for monitored stops, force limiting, and speed controls on any robot working near the public.

Rollouts of retail humanoid robots are happening at a greater pace than people's faith in their capability. This is because one vague video, without any technical analysis, may affect the perception of an individual toward the robot standing some distance from him or her in the store aisle.

Without any technical explanation from Volga Store 64 or Syoma's creator, the most dramatic explanation that remains is the one that is being shared.