#6337
[Second Issue of the Day]
#12
gazeta.ru
July 3, 2002
Serfdom and prohibition instead of legalized
prostitution
By Ivan Chelnok
Saratov Region’s governor Dmitry Ayatskov, who has become famous for such daring initiatives as introducing free trade in farmland in his region and actively campaigning for the legalization of prostitution, has made yet another bold move. He has decreed the introduction of an around-the-clock work regime for farmers and banned the sale and consumption of alcohol during harvest.
According to the press-service of the Saratov regional administration, Ayatskov announced his sensational decision at a standing session of the regional government last week. In line with the governor’s decree, beginning July 1 peasants will have to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and will not be allowed a single drop of alcohol before the harvest is gathered.
The governor instructed farmers to gather everything that is growing in the fields of the region, and that amounts to some 5 million tons of grain. Last year the Saratov Region saw an unexpectedly rich harvest (some 4 million tons of grain), which led to an emergency situation where regional authorities were seriously concerned about gathering it all in before the onset of locusts.
Apparently this time, since the harvesting will require even more effort than it did last year, Ayatskov has decided to take more stringent measures to ensure that not a single kernel is lost to insects. The governor said that the consumption of alcohol must be considered a crime. It is worth noting that the prohibition rules will also apply to the regional government members – Ayatskov has banned his subordinates from taking part in feasts, commonly held in their honour when they tour districts of the region to inspect harvesting.
However, by issuing his sensational decree, Saratov’s governor has in fact violated the law. ''There are no legal grounds for it. Farmers are subject to discrimination in their places of abode anyway, since their living conditions are worse than those of the urban population,'' the chairman of the Federation Council’s committee for agriculture and foodstuffs Ivan Starikov told Gazeta.Ru. ''And now they have to work 24 hours a day? The constitutional rights of citizens will be violated. I think this [Ayatskov’s decree] is nothing but a PR-move.''
According to the senator, the peasants do not need any extra motivation because they know better than anyone that they may lose their jobs and subsequently all means of subsistence, if they fail to gather in the crops on time.
''In Soviet times, when I myself worked as a director (of a collective farm), indeed, quite often peasants and milkmaids had to be raised and dragged to work after lengthy parties. The situation is somewhat different now – there are problems with fuel supply, money and distribution of produce. The problem of labour discipline has passed,'' holds Starikov.
Moreover, many peasants are now self-employed owners of their farms, and they hardly need a drinking ban to do their job well. According to the senator, prohibition can, by law, be introduced in certain cases by local self-government, not by the governor. And given that the majority of shops trading alcoholic drinks are privately owned, their owners may easily contest the governor’s decree in court, should he attempt to impede their business.
According to Starikov, Ayatskov’s initiative is devoid of substance, meaningless, and is launched with the single goal to prove that the regional authorities are concerned about harvesting.
Ayatskov has gained notoriety in the past for his extravagant initiatives. In the liberal times of Boris Yeltsin’s rule, Ayatskov was the first to legalize free trade in land in his region, and also campaigned for the legalization of prostitution, saying that once brothels became legal, it would entitle their employees to social protection, and the state budget would get extra tax revenues. Now, as the harvest is beginning, Ayatskov is more concerned about gathering in all the crops before locust attacks rather than the well being of prostitutes.
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