Russia: Law To Tackle Corruption DESIGNED To Be Ineffective
Deborah Swallow | August 23rd, 2010 in : General, international business, Russia/Asia, social practices
The recently proposed “Dymovsky’s Law”, part of Russian
President Dimitry Medvedev’s agenda to halt Russia’s endemic corruption problem, is apparently DESIGNED not to be effective, according to Ed Hancox in The Mantle. Rather than punish corrupt cops, the new law would allow sanctions to be taken against those police officers who make detrimental statements, in public, concerning their superiors – such as accusing them of taking bribes!
A poll on corruption came out earlier this year. 55% of respondents (Russian citizens) thought it could never be eradicated; 46% thought it had increased in the last couple of years and 31% found no change. As to the worst agencies, 52% named the highway patrol, 45% customs and police officers; 23% courts and prosecutors. 27% admitted they had given bribes to officials and another 28% hadn’t paid a bribe but felt like they were expected to do so. The only bright spot in this picture was that the federal government was seen as less corrupt (named by 10%) than local governments (named by 16%). This is reflected in a Yuri Levada Center public opinion poll which agreed that Putin had not succeeded in reducing corruption or crime.
Hancox offers the suggestion:
It’s a sad indication of where the fight against corruption in Russia is likely headed. And for all of his good talk about the future, Medvedev’s crusade against corruption will likely be no more successful than Putin’s, in large part because it’s designed not to be effective.
According to Ombudsman, law enforcement agencies are the worst offenders in Russia. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, the most visible. Big-time corruption is not, after all, what the ordinary Ivan is going to run across. If corruption is President Medvedev’s big theme, he has his work cut out for him. Meanwhile, the First Deputy Minister for consumer market and services of Moscow Oblast has been arrested for taking bribes.
See the full article ‘Prisoner of Siloviki’ in The Mantle at by clicking here. Thank you, Caroline Francis, for sending this on to me. Other source: Russia Blog.
Tags: Bribery, corruption, Russia
Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets. 