Corruption in Russia: Tradition or Problem Being Solved

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Every Russian ruler during his reign necessarily did two things: he began the fight against corruption, and then admitted that it was impossible to cope with it. Today, corruption, along with the problems of democracy, tolerance and the protection of gay rights, is one of the traditional points of Western pressure on Russia. “A country in which corruption is embedded in the business culture,” foreigners say about Russia. Additional weight to this problem is given by PR politicians who take "the fight against corruption" as the basis of their programs. In some ways, they are all, of course, right - corruption in Russia existed regardless of time, place and ruler. But the problem is not only Russian.

Ivan the Terrible became the first fighter against corruption

It seems that Tsar Ivan the Terrible was thinking about the fight against corruption. During his reign, several judicial codes were issued, providing for punishment for a wide variety of crimes. A punishment for bribery also appeared in the 1550 code of law. The chronicles contain information about the first Russian execution for a bribe, which took place in 1556. They executed the clerk who "". According to the tsarist decree, they first cut off his knee-deep legs, then - his arms to the elbows. “Is the goose meat tasty?” The tsar asked the howling victim, and only then the head of the reckless man was cut off.

In Russia, bribe takers were handed over to be torn apart by the crowd

Despite the measures taken by Ivan Vasilyevich, corruption in Russia developed and flourished. It got to the point that Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich even had to hand over dishonest bureaucrats to the people. Remarkable is the fact that the tsar knew about bribery among the boyars, but allowed it … within reasonable limits. However, all patience, as you know, comes to an end. So, in 1648, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich handed over to the crowd for reprisals the head of the Zemsky Prikaz (by today's standards of the chairman of the Supreme Court) Leonty Pleshcheev. The official thought of getting informants who filed false denunciations of wealthy nobles and boyars, accusing them of grave crimes. The innocent accused were sent to prison, from where they could be redeemed for a lot of money, which were immediately sent to Pleshcheev's pocket.

Peter I had a favorite bribe-taker

One of the most famous corrupt officials in the Russian Empire can be called Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, a comrade-in-arms of the first Russian emperor Peter I. Despite the fact that Menshikov was the favorite of the tsar and received great honors, this man was distinguished by a rare greed. From whom he only took bribes: from the Moscow Treasury - 53,679 rubles and from the Military Collegium - 10,000 rubles to cover their shortfalls, from the famous embezzler of Count Gagarin - 5,000 rubles for concealing the embezzlement, from Mazepa for providing assistance in obtaining them hetman rank. Peter I knew about the "tricks" of the prince, but did nothing. When one of Peter I's associates, Lefort, died, the emperor said about Menshikov: “I have one hand left - a thief, but a loyal one.” True, the Russian emperor showed such loyalty only to Menshikov. The nobles convicted of embezzlement or bribery were subjected to torture and corporal punishment. So, in 1721, by order of Peter, the former governor of Siberia, Prince Matvey Gagarin, was hanged in St. Petersburg. As it turned out, he took fantastic bribes and was able to turn into the richest man in the Russian Empire in just a few months. The king and senators were personally present at the execution. Contemporaries recalled that after the execution, Peter I threw a feast with a cannon salute and a festive orchestra, and made the family of the hanged man have fun there. The body of Prince Gagarin sagged for several months. Later, Russian emperors began to treat bribe-takers more loyally, and bribery reached global proportions.

In the USSR, bribes were streamlined

The fight against bribery acquired its modern form only in the days of the USSR. At this time, for the first time in the legislative acts of Russia, articles appeared that provided for the punishment not only of the person who took the offering, but also the one who gave it. Articles have appeared in the modern Criminal Code of Russia that provide for such subtle and complex corruption phenomena as “commercial bribery” and “provocation of a bribe”. Thus, over time, the mechanisms for regulating corruption are becoming more and more perfect, however, corruption itself does not stand still.

Types of bribes in Russia

Research by modern analysts shows that the most relevant types of bribes today are bribes with gifts, bribes in money and bribes with travel. The latter have gained popularity in the last decade. The most widespread type of bribery in Russia today is a bribe "in real money". Such bribery accounts for about 40% of the total mass, while the average size of such a bribe ranges from 250 to 300 thousand rubles. This type of bribery is today the most widespread in all spheres of business and at all levels of government. The average size of commercial bribery in the Russian Federation is, according to expert estimates, about 5 million rubles. Analysts estimate the average annual volume of bribes in Russia at 300 billion rubles, and approximately 7% of this amount falls on bribes to traffic police officers. However, it should be understood that corruption is a phenomenon that actually does not lend itself to monitoring, therefore these data are very, very relative.

Corruption Perceptions Index

There is the so-called Corruption Perception Index - an annually updated rating of the states of the world, in which the countries are located according to the level of corruption perception. This rating has been compiled since 1995 based on the results of social surveys among the population. Russia in this rating is practically the most corrupt country, and the countries of Europe and the United States are at the other end of the rating. However, despite the popularity of this rating abroad, serious analysts subject it to serious criticism.

China fights corruption in the best traditions of the Russian Middle Ages

Whatever the ratings say, the problem of corruption is relevant not only for Russia. Corruption is no better, for example, in China. In most cases, the PRC authorities punish corrupt officials with death. So, since 2010, 10 thousand government officials have been executed in China and another 120 thousand received from 10 to 20 years in prison. The authorities broadcast the executions of corrupt officials live on television. But even such harsh measures as the death penalty do not help in the fight against bribes.

US fights corruption with the "carrot" method

In the United States, they see the way of fighting corruption as completely different than in China or in Russia. In some states, if an official who was offered a bribe, refused it and reported the incident to the police, he receives from the authorities not only a "good word" and "good attitude", but also a monetary reward for cooperating with the authorities. True, the "American carrot" has also failed to eradicate corruption.