Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Chelyabinsk Workers Hope Bringing Back Serfdom will Improve Their Position


Paul Goble

            Staunton, October 13 – A group of union workers in Chelyabinsk have launched an appeal to officially restore serfdom in Russia. They say that in fact serfdom exists but that its official restoration will give them benefits that they do not now enjoy and lead factory owners to treat them better than they are doing now.

            According to the workers, serfdom imposed certain obligations on “the masters” which the owners of factories do not feel; and if Russia restored serfdom, the workers could expect to benefit by the rules the latter would then have to operate under (echo.msk.ru/blog/echomsk/2517803-echo/).

            The petition reflects less an expression of any real desire for a return to the Russian social-economic system of 150 years ago than a cry of despair about what conditions there are like now. It is available online at change.org/p/за-легализацию-крепостного-права?recruiter=1008347591. So far, however, fewer than 200 people have signed it.

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