Forced Labor Instead of Summer Vacation for Children and Their Parents in russia

kremlin officials have decided to mobilize absolutely all available labor reserves for the “development of modern russia”. moscow’s commissioner for children’s affairs olga yaroslavskaya has proposed returning to the soviet practice of summer labor camps for minors. According to her, this will “improve the health” of teenagers and help keep them occupied during the summer. This applies especially to children whose parents cannot afford a proper vacation. “I think the return of labor camps is a realistic idea that our children will support,” the official concluded.

The country’s socio-economic situation means that more than 50% of russians will not be able to afford a proper vacation in 2026. According to research, 55% of respondents will spend their vacation in nature, only 7% plan to travel within the country, and 6% will go abroad. According to the Gini index, social inequality in russia has been rising for the third consecutive year and has reached a record high of 0.422 (on a scale from 0 to 1). Therefore, the issue of children’s vacations is indeed a problem for most russian families.

yaroslavskaya’s initiative completely replicates the soviet practice of enlisting schoolchildren to help with the harvest on collective farms. This year, russia’s agricultural sector has faced a record labor shortage – relevant ministries report a deficit of 250,000 to 300,000 workers. The labor shortage in the sector stands at 30–40% annually and continues to worsen due to the outflow of workers to other sectors, particularly defense enterprises and the war effort.

Enlisting children to work in agriculture could be the kremlin’s next step in its systemic search for additional – preferably unpaid – labor. minister of economic development of the rf maksim reshetnikov has already announced a project to employ retirees.