Labor relations in the context of the precarity of labor and employment in Russia

Introduction: according to representatives of sociological science, one of the major issues of the Russian ‘trauma society’ is the increasing social stratum known as the precariat. The article examines the existing scientific views on the sources of its formation, definitions of the precariat, and criteria for inclusion in this social group. One of the key characteristics of the precariat is the specific nature of labor and employment, characterized by the following features: instability of income; frequent forced change of not only jobs but also of the field of activity; readiness to do low-paid work; absence of a number of labor law and social security guarantees that an employee has the right to count on as a party to the labor relationship. The initial factors in the precarization of labor and employment in post-Soviet Russia are as follows: deindustrialization of the domestic economy; loss of stability in personal and social life by the majority of the population; unstable socio-economic situation; growth of informal employment; other processes and phenomena inherent in the ‘trauma society’. Without fully overcoming the consequences of the latter, our country has entered the era of platform capitalism. Not only has platform capitalism brought the ‘platformization of informality’ (a term coined by A.V. Shevchuk) but it still contributes to the precarity of employment at the present stage, which is yet to be assessed.