­Dollar-funded corruption probes by international organizations, foreign election observer missions may sound worthy, but in reality are often “color revolution” tools for creating political unrest. Now they are fostering anti-Russian sentiment.

The politicization of organizations such as Freedom House (FH), the Open Society Institute, the Economist Intelligence Unit and Transparency International, which churn out corruption investigations, impedes the resolution of corruption issues. “Corruption investigations” have in fact become instruments of political propaganda.

Genuine problems cannot be removed with slogans. If bookkeepers wasted less time on unnecessary paperwork, and building permits were processed more rapidly, true modernization and increased prosperity would be more likely. The World Bank has repeatedly emphasized these things in its Ease of Doing Business criteria.

Interviewed at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on 25 January, Nouriel Roubini and Ian Bremmer called for Russia to be dropped from the BRICS group of countries. The reason being that Russia’s administration is “so poor, so opaque, so corrupt”.

This statement came at a forum when Euro decision-makers had had their 16th crisis summit over the debt crisis, and even then hadn’t come up with the goods. There was very little transparency at those crisis meetings about who gains economically from the EU’s billions in handouts. Just a little earlier, Barack Obama had voiced his concern about the US losing its leading role in the world economy. Thus, Bremmer and Roubini turned their gaze from those current troubles to – Russia’s elections.  

A report published by the World Economic Forum on 8-9 June 2011 had been quite different, and more responsible in tone. It had concluded that Russia belongs in the group of growing nations which includes Brazil, China, Malaysia, Mexico, South-Africa and Turkey, even though Russia has not achieved the desired traction. Apart from raw materials, Russia’s strength is “higher levels of education, which reach OECD levels and where Russia is far ahead of the BIC average”. The WEF adds:  “Russia has one of the largest domestic markets in the world, ranking 8th among 139 countries, a fact that engenders particular advantages. Russia has also been among the fastest growing economies over the past 10 years in terms of domestic market size, behind China but significantly ahead of India and Brazil”.

All this could be linked to the fact that recent corruption investigations conducted by certain organizations have shown clear political aims. Freedom House advertises itself as an “independent organization”. It is in fact financed from the same source as “Golos” – an election monitoring organization whose reports on last year’s Russian election contributed to stirring up unrest. FH receives over 80% of its funding from the US budget, mostly via the NED (National Endowment for Democracy) and USAID. Through its New Generation program, FH supported the uprising in Egypt. In Ukraine, FH financed the training of over 1,000 “election observers” to promote the Orange Revolution. George Soros, the chairman of the Open Society Institute, is an influential person within FH.  

According to FH, democracy and freedom of speech in Russia have plunged below the levels observed following the collapse of the Soviet Union. That “opinion” is carried over into the ranking of Transparency International. FH describes its rating diplomatically: "The rating reflects the consensus of Freedom House". On a scale of 1 (the best level) to 8 (totally undemocratic) for democratic systems, FH gives Russia a score of 6.75. In its report FH praises Boris Yeltsin’s Russia as "competitive". Garry Kasparov, who is evidently more popular in FH than in Russia – is called "an opposition leader".

The case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is used to denigrate the Russian justice system. The FH report rides roughshod over human fates and tax evasion and other offenses which could have been addressed at the same time. The report makes no reference to the fate of Vladimir Petukhov, a local mayor who was shot dead. Petukhov had complained that Yukos did not pay taxes. He demanded that criminal proceedings be instigated against the company. Criminal investigations were finally opened, but then the mayor was killed on Khodorskovsky’s birthday – as a gift for Yukos’s director. The company’s other owner – Khodorkovsky’s best friend Nevzlin – fled to Israel to escape justice. In Western media reporting and corruption investigations, Yukos and its leaders are just an innocent, romantic company.

Laza Kekic is behind the Russia report by the Economist and the Economist Intelligence Unit: in its world ranking of corruption and democracy Russia is placed in the same dunce’s corner as Libya, Cuba, Afghanistan and Iran. Kekic reproaches Russia for “cynicism and a return to the past, a new dash for authoritarianism”. She omits to say that in Russia, unlike most other countries, election candidates have to declare their income and assets.     

Bureaucracy is a problem for business and individuals in Russia. But everyday experience shows that things are not getting worse. In 2003, registering a Russian child born to a Russian citizen abroad took several months in St Petersburg, entailing waiting in several offices to get a number. By 2009, it only took a visit to one office. In 2003, an inhabitant of St. Petersburg lamented that it was impossible to get ADSL connections, and only slower connections were available over the telephone lines. In 2004, it was boldly estimated that Russia “already” had maybe 15 million internet users. In early 2012, the number of internet users is put at 78 million. Accelerated evolution has not ceased in Russia.

­The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.