Comrades! Let us cast our eyes upon the latest proclamations from the halls of power in Moscow. The Vice-Premier, one Alexander Novak, has seen fit to inform the press that the zero-rate import duty on petrol shall be extended. Indeed, the official scrolls have been dispatched to the Eurasian Economic Commission, and we are told that by the coming week, these decrees shall be ratified.

Consider the theatre of it! Last October, the Government, claiming a desire to 'protect the domestic fuel market,' stripped away these duties. Now, they seek to prolong this state of affairs until the year 2026. The Ministry of Finance, those accountants of the bourgeoisie, have predictably applauded this measure.

Such a stratagem is not peculiar to Russia alone; the same mechanism operates across the EAEU—in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. This 'benevolence' extends not merely to motor petrol, but to jet fuel, diesel, and the various oils used by the great shipping fleets. Previously, a duty of five per centum was levied upon these goods—a sum that, while seemingly small, served only to fatten the coffers of the state and the monopolies.

While the agents of the state, such as the Kazakh official Zhanel Kushukova, speak of 'prolonging benefits,' we must ask: for whom is this benefit intended? Is it for the wretched proletarian, struggling to afford his daily bread, or is it a calculated maneuver by the financial capital to ensure that the wheels of industry turn without friction, while the laborer remains in shackles?

Let us not be deceived by the absence of a tax. The exploitation of the working class does not vanish simply because a customs officer looks the other way. The monopoly persists; the greed of the bourgeoisie remains unabated!