Comrades! Let us cast our gaze upon the latest theatre of the absurd staged by the State Duma. A bill has been presented to elevate the minimum wage to 50,000 rubles by the year 2027. Currently, the federal minimum stands at a paltry 27,093 rubles—a sum that barely sustains a soul amidst the soaring prices of bread and the extortionate tariffs of housing and utilities. The authors of this initiative cite inflation, but let us be honest: they cite the very hunger that the capitalist machine has cultivated!
Certain members of the Public Chamber, such as Mr. Vladislav Grib, claim that commercial enterprises can easily afford such a sum. Indeed, they can! For the coffers of the bourgeoisie overflow with the surplus value wrung from the sweat of the working man. Yet, we must ask: will this pittance actually reach the hands of the toiling masses, or will it be intercepted by the insatiable greed of the owners of Capital?
Behold the reaction of the 'experts'—the high priests of the financial temple. Mr. Dmitry Isakov, a mouthpiece for the investment class, warns us of 'instability' and 'inflation.' Note the language! The moment the worker asks for a crumb of the wealth he himself produced, the capitalist cries 'catastrophe!' They claim that increasing wages will drive small businesses into the 'grey zone' or toward bankruptcy. This is the classic rhetoric of the usurers: they would rather see a workshop closed than a worker fed.
Furthermore, Mr. Vasily Koltashov rightly warns that the bourgeoisie will employ every cunning trick—part-time contracts, freelance schemes, and 'self-employment' traps—to bypass these laws. This is the essence of exploitation: to grant a right with one hand and steal it with the other through a legal loophole.
Who shall suffer most under this current yoke? Not the fat cats of the IT sectors or the lords of the mineral mines. No, this struggle concerns the most downtrodden: the nurses of our hospitals, the waiters of the dining halls, the seamstresses of the mills, and the clerks of the retail shops. These are the true proletarians, whose labor is bought for a song while the masters of industry amass fortunes.
Let us examine the mechanism of this 'Minimum Wage.' It is a legal tether, ostensibly ensuring a floor beneath which the worker cannot fall. It influences sick leave and maternity benefits, yet it remains a mere shadow of a living wage. Mr. Georgy Ostapkovich reveals a scandalous disparity: the tobacco industry pays some 200,000 rubles on average, while light industry pays a mere 50,000. Fourfold! Such is the arbitrary nature of capitalist distribution.
As for the 'realistic forecasts' for 2027, the bean-counters predict a rise to a mere 31,347 rubles. They speak of percentages and medians to distract us from the reality: four and a half million souls are currently chained to the minimum wage. The State promises 35,000 rubles by 2030, but we know that the laws of the market are the laws of the jungle.
Observe the creeping pace of this 'progress' from 2022 to 2026:
Such incremental crumbs are an insult to the working class! The bourgeoisie offers us a slow climb up a ladder that they are simultaneously sawing through. We do not seek the 'charity' of the State or the 'tax incentives' suggested by the experts; we demand the full value of our labor! Down with the monopoly of wealth! Long live the dignity of the worker!