The regulation is based on the loophole in the presidential order, which allowed officials not to disclose the earnings of their family members (spouses, wives, children) if they give “objective reasons” for that.

The Ministry’s initiative has sparked a lot of controversy since what is meant by “objective reasons” remains unclear. People are worried that the new regulation will help officials to evade the anti-corruption activities initiated by Medvedev.

Elena Panfilova, Director of Transparency International Russia, agrees that that such a loophole could jeopardize the President's modernisation plans.

“If everything is okay, if there are no questions to certain officials either from an anti-corruption agency or a tax agency, why not publicize the information?” Panfilova asked RT. “Corruption is a systemic problem in Russia. It needs a serious approach where all forces are unified. It actually looks very strange when the President and society demand transparency, and some officials start to tell us what should be transparent and what should not.”

Back in April, Medvedev made all government officials, including himself and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, disclose their earnings – as well as the incomes of their wives and children.