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Taking On Russia's Ubiquitous Bribery
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told lawmakers this month that "those who take bribes feel it involves no risks or consider such risks to be negligible. It mustn't be so."
(By Mikhail Klimentyev -- Associated Press)
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"Arbitrary inspections by officials, from firemen to police, are often an excuse to extort bribes," Medvedev said in March.
And that's just the small stuff.
For tens of thousands of dollars -- estimates vary from $10,000 to $50,000 -- investigations by police or other state agencies can be purchased to cripple business rivals, ripening them for cheap takeovers. Russian business organizations say that each year, about 8,000 businesses are the subject of such attacks by "raiders," as Russians call these corporate bandits.
The Institute for Public Projects and the Institute for Comparative Social Research, two Moscow research organizations, recently compiled a price list of big-ticket bribes after interviewing businessmen, politicians, civil servants and other experts who were granted anonymity.
· A state contract to a state firm: A 20 percent kickback of the contract's value.
· A state contract to a private firm: A 33 percent kickback of the contract's value.
· A state license for a large private business: $1 million to $5 million.
· A charitable grant: 20 to 30 percent of the grant's value.
The think tanks suggested that a place on a political party's list of candidates for parliament could be acquired for $2 million to $5 million.
Medvedev has provided few details about his proposed attack on corruption. Some critics, including Satarov, believe his interest in establishing the rule of law grows from a desire to legitimize property acquired by Kremlin insiders and their loyal collaborators during the Putin years.
"They are afraid that those who might replace them will take away their property," Satarov said. "The plan is to create . . . a sort of island where the rule of law exists. Their property is on this island."
But Panfilova said she is reserving judgment on Medvedev's initiative, which could also be part of a broader strategy to strengthen his still-uncertain political position.
"If the plan is filled with real instruments to control the income and property of civil servants, it means he is serious about fighting corruption," she said. "Anti-corruption can also be a perfect tool to confront your political enemies. And that's easy to do in Russia. There will be something to investigate on almost each and every person."
