To Save the Economy, Russians Are Proposed to Work Six Days a Week for 12 Hours

According to reports from Ukrinform, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service has highlighted a new initiative by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. After a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Deripaska proposed implementing a 12-hour workday for six days a week for Russian citizens. Experts have criticized this initiative, stating that it completely undermines the rights and freedoms of workers and employees in Russia, contravening the international convention established by the International Labour Organization (ILO), which stipulates an eight-hour workday. Notably, the Russian Federation is a signatory to this convention.

Deripaska justifies his proposal by citing the need to rescue the Russian economy from the repercussions of the global crisis. He expressed the view that the country must undergo a transformation from global opportunities to regional ones, taking into account various constraints. "We do not have many resources. To be precise, we have only one, which is tied to our national characteristic: in difficult times, we know how to come together and work harder," the oligarch stated.

Interestingly, Deripaska's initiative has garnered support from certain Russian academics. Gennady Onishchenko, an academic from the Russian Academy of Sciences, remarked that such work schedules are already in use in specific sectors of the economy. According to him, workers in the extraction and processing industries could also participate in this proposal by working longer hours.

The Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service explained that this shift in mindset within Russian society occurred after Putin's meeting with representatives of big business. Given the oligarchs' initiative and their desire to finance state expenditures for the so-called "special military operation," it is hard to imagine how "patriotically" inclined this summit was. Kerimov promised to allocate 200 billion rubles to the state budget, Potanin pledged 130 billion, and Deripaska committed 100 billion. Thus, the story of the 12-hour workday appears to be an attempt by Russia's large businesses to offset costs through cheap labor.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service noted that against the backdrop of Russian oligarchs striving to become even "greater patriots" and support Moscow's aggressive policies, the level of corruption in the country has noticeably increased. By the end of 2025, the average bribe size in Russia has risen to 1 million rubles, and the number of corruption cases has increased by 12.4% over the year, exceeding 36,000, with 60% related to bribery.

The Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service also emphasized that the Russian elite no longer hides their exploitative plans, which should serve as a significant wake-up call for ordinary Russians.

Andrey Klishas, the head of the Federation Council's committee on constitutional legislation and state building, noted that in Russia, laws and restrictions enacted during the military actions will continue to be in effect even after the war against Ukraine concludes. The authorities will review legislation and only abandon restrictions if they lose their relevance.

Furthermore, as reported by Ukrinform, Russians are increasingly turning to pawnshops for money against collateral due to a significant decline in their incomes, high bank interest rates, difficulties in obtaining loans from banks, "dirty" credit histories, and other issues.

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