Vladimir Putin proposed to increase cosmonauts' salaries by at least 50%

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed increasing the salaries of astronauts who have been in orbit by 50%, and those who are just preparing for their first flight - by 70%. The head of state announced his idea at a meeting on long-term priorities for the development of space activities, Interfax reports.

Earlier, Roscosmos planned to increase the salaries of its employees by 36%. Thus, the salary of a cosmonaut candidate will increase from 60.9 to 82.8 thousand rubles, an astronaut - from 63.8 to 86.7 thousand rubles, an instructor - from 88.4 to 120.29 thousand rubles. For those who have been in space, the salary should rise from 69.6 to 94.65 thousand rubles.

According to the president's proposal, the cosmonaut candidate's salary may increase to 103.5 thousand rubles. A little more - 104.4 thousand rubles - will be able to get those who have already been in orbit.

Astronauts complained about low salaries in February. They asked the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, to transfer them directly to the state corporation instead of the Cosmonaut Training Center. He, in turn, promised to report the problem to the president.