Labor and Power in the Russian Model of Platform Capitalism

With the digitalization of the economy and society, varieties of “platform capitalism” appeared in the world. The article presents the first attempt at a critical understanding of the “gig economy” model that is taking shape in contemporary Russia. By problematizing the narratives that dominate foreign studies of platform employment, the author shows the embeddedness of platformization in the current economic system. Unlike countries with a developed market economy, labor platforms in Russia are part of giant platform ecosystems controlled by oligarchic businesses and the state, which, in the course of “creeping nationalization”, increases its influence through ownership and management structures. In key sectors of platform employment, quasi-monopolies are formed with the dominance of one company. In the context of geopolitical tensions, the process of “sovereignization” and the closure of the platform economy is being completed. Having successfully platformized informal labor markets in some sectors, platforms are becoming a tool for the legalization of employment in the hands of the state, driven primarily by fiscal interests. In Russia, a neoliberal model of regulation of the gig economy is being formed based on the legal introduction of the category of ‘self-employed’ in the absence of due attention to labor rights and the social protection of workers. With the strengthening of the authoritarian nature of the state, the possibilities of self-organization and collective defense of the interests of platform workers are blocked. The author concludes that in the Russian model of “platform capitalism”, the state enters an alliance with big capital and consumers against labor: the state strengthens control over the economy and tax revenues, large platform companies use labor at lower costs, and consumers receive cheap services through convenient digital services. The author calls for an integration of the issues of platform capitalism into broader discussions about the Russian model of socio-economic development.

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