Russian authorities started to involve students in construction of the Kerch Bridge
Russian authorities opened the third labor semester for students of its universities. Student construction teams from six leading universities came to the occupied Crimean peninsula to participate in the construction of a bridge through the Kerch Strait. As reported by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Transport, the Head of the agency, Maxim Sokolov launched the third labor semester.
“Today, we open student season—the third labor semester on the shore of the Kerch Strait. We can safely say that not only builders from all over our country but also students from our transport and other universities and colleges have actively taken part in the largest construction of the 21st century,” Sokolov stated on the 4th of July.
87 students from the universities of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Tyumen and Irkutsk have become members of construction teams. 67 students will work on the construction site of the bridge while 20 more will work on building the motor road to the bridge from the side of Krasnodar region.
The labor semester for Russian students will last until the beginning of the academic year, the 31st of August. The students are promised 8-hour work days and a wage of 150 Rubles per hour. Earlier, Russian media reported that the State owes more than 60 billion Rubles to the construction company involved in the construction of the bridge.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced that the Kremlin has found a contractor that agreed to undertake the construction of the Kerch Bridge in the Crimean peninsula, although with great difficulty. According to Russian media, the contractor company, Stroygazmontazh belongs to Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, a member of Putin’s inner circle.
In January 2015, Rotenberg stated that constructing this bridge resulted in the full isolation of his company from the West because of imposed sanctions.