In the past three years, following the implementation of a moratorium on penalty accruals by the Russian state, payments for housing and communal services from the population have seen a notable decline. As of October 2020, the debt reached 625 billion, steadily approaching the trillion mark.
Management companies consistently display lists of debtors on doors, yet the numbers persist without decline, possibly signaling financial challenges for citizens. This phenomenon stems from declining incomes, escalating tariffs, and a misalignment of interests between service providers and residents. Private owners overestimating their expenses contributes to tariff increases, fueling a cycle where citizens struggle to pay, resulting in a surge in housing and communal service debts.
While the state formally offers assistance to those with a confirmed judicial debt, the reality is that if the subsidy issuer misses just one payment, the assistance is promptly suspended. This creates yet another detrimental cycle, one that official authorities show no urgency in breaking.
Deputies are putting forth various Ideas to address non-payment issues. One suggestion involves establishing legal frameworks for the operation of professional collectors, while others argue that the country's lenient laws hinder resource-supplying organizations and management companies from effectively collecting payments from defaulters.
Concessionaires who own the housing and communal services market are amassing wealth through audacious exploitation of workers, pushing vast segments of the population into a debt pit. The prosperity of a select few businessmen is being built on the backs of millions of ordinary people rapidly descending into poverty. This will persist as long as market forces wield significant control over our lives, compounded by the legal protection of the right to appropriate the fruits of others' labor.
The transformative force lies in the collective power of the workers, as they seek a fundamental change in the current state of affairs. Their demand is for a fair and transparent system of charges for essential services—heat, electricity, and water. The objective is not profit extraction or shameless exploitation but rather the establishment of conditions that ensure comfort and well-being in human life.
Source: Novaya Gazeta - "The Trillion is already visible" from November 07, 2023