In recent weeks, the tone of public debate in russia has moved beyond merely punishing those who criticise the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine towards mandating citizens to actively make sacrifices in support of the war effort, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
Russian state-backed media and business groups have petitioned the Economic Ministry to authorise a six-day week for workers in the face of the economic demands of the war, apparently without additional pay.
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On May 21, 2023, leading russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan mooted that citizens should work for two extra hours in munitions factories each day, after their regular jobs.
According to the UK Defense Intelligence, the evolving tone of the conversations clearly echoes a Soviet-style sense of societal compulsion. It also highlights how the leadership highly likely ident economic performance as a decisive factor in winning the war.
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