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Russia falls 50% short of EU anti-corruption ideal
Published: 12 July, 2010, 20:13
Edited: 13 July, 2010, 07:44
TAGS: Crime, EU, Russia, Law, Psychology, Prime Time Russia
Despite widely announced anti-corruption activities, Russia has followed less than half of the European Council recommendations it signed up to a few years ago.
That is according to a recent report the Russian Prosecutor’s Office has submitted to the European Council’s Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO).
The report sums up the country’s efforts to fulfill European specialists’ anti-corruption recommendations worked out especially for Russia in December 2008 after two major check-ups.
According to the report, only 12 recommendations out of 26 have been completely implemented.
Namely, Russia has elaborated an anti-corruption strategy, adopted an anti-corruption law and allowed activists to take part in a presidential anti-corruption council. In addition, the country set the criteria for employing prosecutors, gave judges the right to contest dismissal in court and enhanced citizens’ access to information about court and state bodies. It also obliged officials to publicly report their incomes and created specials commissions that deal with conflict of interests in state organizations.
Other recommendations have been either completely ignored (six out of 26) or fulfilled only partially (eight). Russia did not manage to set up administrative courts that would allow citizens to contest the decisions of state organizations. Neither was the law prohibiting officials to take gifts adopted. In addition, the list of people immune to criminal prosecution has not been revised.
Moreover, even the major anti-corruption law submitted to the State Duma as early as 2000 is still under review – the resistance proved to be too high.
The European Council will analyze and assess the report by autumn.
The Group of States Against Corruption embraces the countries that signed the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption. Russia ratified the document on January 27, 1999. In May 2008, Dmitry Medvedev launched a major anti-corruption campaign.
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Today, I saw in the news a protest outside a Moscow court agaisnt two artists for displaying an exhibition in which religious images were used in an inapropiate way, and it was evident people´s anger. They were angry because this was an offense towards Russian values, and they were willing to defend their culture, apparently Russian society takes tradition very seriously. However, I wander why Russians don´t get angry when corrupt politicians recieve bribes or when public money is stolen and ended up in some one´s pocket? People need to realize that corruption is the real threat to society, it prevents people from getting better opportunities and creates social and economic instability. It makes the country weak in every sense.