A continuation of the post that caused quite a stir. It is always good when someone can object in a more substantive way than, "you understand nothing about the labor market" or "you know nothing about construction." Dmitry Butrin, head of the economic policy desk at Kommersant (a major Russian newspaper), has challenged me to a duel and promises to expose me and change my mind. And, at the same time, to debunk my harmful beliefs that confuse the broad masses. He is debunking them here: http://zt.livejournal.com/298442.html I have no intention of changing my mind, and I am taking it upon myself to change Butrin’s. http://zt.livejournal.com/298442.html Setting aside the ethical and, if you like, political judgments prompted by Mr. Temnikov’s provocative statement, I am prepared to assert the following: In present-day Russia, labor cannot be approached using the frameworks of Marx and Adam Smith—as though it were merely a factor of production whose price is determined by supply and demand. We are not living in the 18th century. Supposedly this is a post-industrial era. That is precisely why Temnikov has no basis for judging the laziness or greatness of Russian citizens by how hungry citizens of another country are, or by how willing they are to work for him while living on nothing but dried apricots and, if they are lucky, mice. There is no free labor market. It does not exist in Russia, nor in any relatively developed country. Therefore, a "fair wage" should be determined, at the very least, on the basis of what it costs to hire LEGAL workers—even if they are foreigners, provided they are legalized. By legalization I mean not only a work permit, but also guaranteeing workers all the conditions required by the Labor Code. Yes, yes, yes. Exactly. A Tajik worker, too, should have an eight-hour workday, insurance, and paid vacation. And overtime should be paid at a higher rate. If we want such guarantees for ourselves, then we must extend them to migrants as well. If Mr. Temnikov did not keep his workers like rightless animals, he would be surprised to find that a "native-born" worker does not always cost more than a migrant. And you, Monsieur Butrin, with your pseudo-market approach, are covering for slavery and the everyday crimes taking place on construction sites. Because what you are saying is: Temnikov, be efficient! Give us more square meters! The economy needs them. So we do not care what exactly you are doing there—just keep increasing output, because we need iPods! I am by no means a socialist, as some people in the comments are writing, but I nevertheless insist that it is absolutely unacceptable for hundreds of thousands of people to be brought into my country who have no social guarantees and never will. And not because I feel especially sorry for the Tajiks, but because when one of them is thrown out without being paid, he will rob my wife to buy a ticket home. Because when his fingers are torn off at a construction site (and he has no insurance), they will inject him with a painkiller and throw him out beyond the fence, and then, in order to survive, he will call his brother Jamshud and ask him to bring over a kilogram of heroin so he can sell it and pay for treatment. And so on. If you are interested in the subject, give it a read.