MOSCOW, January 26 (RAPSI) – President Vladimir Putin has filed a bill, equating the minimal wage in Russia to the subsistence minimum, to the State Duma, the database of the lower house of the Parliament reads on Friday.

Currently, the minimal wage is set at nearly 9,500 rubles (about $170), constituting 85% of the subsistence minimum set at about 11,100 rubles (nearly $200).

According to the bill, the change is to enter in force starting May 1, 2018.