Russia is considering lowering the country's minimum working age to 12 and reopening child labor camps active during the Soviet Union era to address shortages stemming from the war in Ukraine, according to a new report.
The Telegraph noted that Moscow's children's rights commissioner, Olga Yaroslavskaya, claimed in a radio interview that almost all of those who would be impacted by the measure "want to work in the summer."
Yaroslavskaya said the age should be lowered so the children could earn "a little money." "It's no secret that we need to change federal labour legislation," she said.
She went on to discuss the work camps, saying they could provide employment and structure for teenagers whose parents can't give them a "three-month fiesta." "It seems to me that the return of labor camps is a realistic scenario that our children will support," she claimed.
The outlet noted that Russian labor laws allow Russian teenagers to work from the age of 14 with the written consent from their parents and sign a contract on their own from the age 15 on.
The country needs about 1.5 million additional workers to balance the labor market, the outlet said in another report. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs has said the figure will increase to three million by the end of the decade. About 1.5 million Russian troops have been killed in the war. Additionally, about a million more people have emigrated (most of them young professionals) and the birth rate has reached record lows.
Analysts have noted that Russia is facing increased hardship to sustain its war effort as the conflict enters its fifth year. A recent report noted that officials have told President Vladimir Putin that the current levels of pending related to the war is becoming unattainable.
Bloomberg detailed that officials in the Finance Ministry and the central bank told the Kremlin that current levels are not sustainable and could widen the government deficit further.
The outlet went on to note that officials have proposed more cuts to defense spending, claiming that it will be difficult to deal with financial woes otherwise.
Others, however, insist on maintaining the spending. Not only to continue prosecuting the war, but also because many businesses have become reliant on military contracts.
Putin has asked officials to find spending reductions elsewhere. And the Defense Ministry is actually asking for additional funding, the outlet added. All final decisions will be made by Putin.
Elsewhere, Bloomberg noted that Russia is on the brink of recession after cutting its growth forecast in May. The Economy Ministry now expects GDP to increase by 0.4% this year, compared to the previous estimate of 1.3%.
