Russia has witnessed rapid economic growth over the past several years. Following the global financial crisis and a decline in foreign direct investment, the Russian government has come forward with a massive economic stimulus package, but corruption and lack of trust in institutions continue to hamper domestic and foreign investor confidence. Also the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 outlines that the weak institutional framework in Russia impedes business growth. According to the report, Russia's competitiveness also remains negatively affected by market structures dominated by a few large companies, inefficient anti-monopoly policies, and restrictions on trade.

The Association of Russian Attorneys for Human Rights reports that corruption generates an amount equivalent to 50% of Russia's GDP. The government continues to exert control on the economy's strategic sectors, such as energy, transportation and car manufacturing and to gear its economic policy towards a few major economic actors. Big business in Russia is thus vulnerable to political pressure. For example, the Sakhalin I project in Russia's Far East, which is of vital importance to Russia's energy policy, has come under some pressure to sell its gas production to Gazprom, according to the US Department of State 2009.

Large companies cite corruption as a major obstacle to doing business in Russia. In February 2008, the Institute for Public Projects (INOP) together with the Institute for Comparative Social Research (CESSI) compiled a price-list of bribes. According to a CDI 2008 report on this price-list, large private companies can expect to pay USD 1-5 million to get a licence, and to pay one-third of the order price to win a government contract. Foreign companies establishing themselves in Russia regularly encounter demands for bribes. The Ministry of Interior reported in July 2010 that the size of the average bribe has doubled from USD 760 to USD 1,320 in the first half of 2010. Also, according to a March 2011 article by The Moscow Times, the average kickback has increased 2.5 times to USD 2,000 in the period 2009-2010. According to a business survey by Novie Izvestiya, cited in a July 2010 article by The Moscow Times, the size of business bribes has increased as a result of the 2009 law reducing the number of inspections of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010 reveals that a little over 20% of the surveyed households consider the business/private sector to be 'extremely corrupt'. Also, 67% (more than two-third) of the companies surveyed in the EBRD & World Bank BEEPS Russia 2008 state that corruption constitutes a problem for conducting business - a substantial increase from 41% in 2005. In the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012, corruption is identified as the most problematic factor for doing business in Russia. According to the report, companies consider the occurrence of irregular payments and bribes in Russia as common. According to the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2009, over 29.4% of companies make unofficial payments to 'get things done'. Foreign companies say corruption and a weak rule of law deter both trade and investment in Russia, according to a July 2009 article by Reuters. As a result of unattractive conditions for business, investments are far from sufficient to satisfy the modernisation needs of the Russian economy, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010.

Many SMEs choose to operate in Russia's sizeable informal sector. According to the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2009, more than 32% of service companies report that they must compete against unregistered or informal companies, and more than 21% identify the practices of competitors in the informal sector as a major constraint. Smaller companies generally have short-term business strategies, since long-term perspectives are regarded as too uncertain due to changing and incoherent business legislation and the selective application of these rules. According to the price-list of bribes mentioned above, a small company can expect to pay a third of the value of a given transaction in bribes and 10% of its total profits to get 'help' from officials. Given this environment, foreign companies are recommended to develop, implement and strengthen integrity systems and to conduct extensive due diligence when planning to invest and when already doing business in Russia. View the special page on information on obtaining business licences and permits in Russia.

Corruption is institutionalised in Russia and permeates through all levels of government, including the regulatory bodies. In order to reduce bureaucracy and decrease the opportunities for corruption, one-stop shops have been established for citizens and companies to reduce direct interaction with public officials and so the opportunities to demands bribes. In addition, several governmental internet portals have been launched to make the regulatory processes more transparent. Furthermore, salaries of civil servants have been raised in recent years and training has been undertaken to raise awareness among public officials about corruption. For instance, during 2010, the Russian government instituted mandatory anti-corruption training for public officials through the Academy of State Service. Nevertheless, companies continue to report that they encounter a high volume of demands for bribes and in Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010, more than 37% of Russian households perceive public officials to be 'extremely corrupt'. 

Russian business regulation generally consists of very detailed regulations for the smallest activities. A manifestation of this is the excessive amount of time required to obtain and renew licences, as reported by the World Bank & IFC Doing Business 2012. Regulatory restrictions on foreign direct investment are present, especially in sectors deemed of strategic importance by the Russian leadership, such as energy, insurance, electricity, banking and transportation. In these sectors, the state has discriminated against private, and, especially, foreign investors, as reported by the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010. In banking, for example, foreign banks are allowed to operate, but only in the form of subsidiaries and not as branches. In the sector of air and freight transport, 49% foreign ownership is permitted. Other sectors, such as business services, hotels and restaurants, construction and distribution, have been opened up for foreign investment.

A further problem is the inconsistent and non-transparent application of laws and regulations and the weak enforcement of laws and court decisions. For instance, Global Integrity 2010 alleges that Russia exhibits a huge implementation gap, and many laws on the paper are poorly enforced in practice. Companies surveyed in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 identify inefficient government bureaucracy to be among the most problematic factors for doing business in Russia. According to the report, the lack of progress with respect to the institutional framework is of particular concern to companies, as it may act as a constraint on their business operations in Russia. The report alleges that strengthening the institutional setup - enforcing the rule of law and protecting property rights, as well as improving the functioning of the judiciary, would greatly benefit the regulatory climate in the country.

According to the EBRD & World Bank BEEPS Russia 2008, 23% of senior management's time is spent dealing with public officials about the application and interpretation of laws and regulations, and to maintain access to public services - a significant increase from 7% in 2005. Regulatory changes are a particular problem for foreign investors. Some foreign companies have claimed that they have seen no real change in an opaque system which tends to favour Russian companies, as reported in a July 2009 article by Reuters. In general, Russia's body of laws are conflicting, overlapping and rapidly changing, and the interpretation and application of these laws varies between central, regional and local authorities.

According to the US Department of State 2011, it can be difficult to obtain independent dispute resolution in Russia due to the developing judicial system, political pressure on and widespread corruption within the courts, and weak enforcement. Reportedly, many attorneys refer their Western clients with investment or trade disputes in Russia to international arbitration in Stockholm or to courts abroad. Russia accepts binding international arbitration and foreign arbitral awards are legally enforceable in Russia, even without a reciprocal treaty between Russia and the country where the order was issued. Russia is a member of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and a signatory to the New York Convention of 1958. Domestic arbitration avenues are available through the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation and the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICAC). The ICAC will hear claims if both parties agree to refer disputes there. Similarly, an Arbitration Tribunal at the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been established. However, the enforcement of both domestic international arbitral awards ultimately requires action from Russian courts and follow-up by bailiffs, which, according to the US Department of State 2011, has yet to consistently and effectively enforce court judgments. Access the Lexadin World Law Guide for a collection of legislation in Russia.

Special information on obtaining business licences and permits in Russia

Having good relations with the relevant public authorities is very important when doing business in Russia, as pointed out by the US Department of State 2011. Opening up a store, registering a company, procuring office space, obtaining an allotment of land, or winning a government or municipal contract becomes considerably easier when a company has good relations with key persons within the relevant authority. According to the World Bank & IFC Doing Business 2012, dealing with licences is a major problem in Russia. For example, it takes 423 days on average for a company to obtain all the licences required to set up a warehouse. Despite political attempts to facilitate this process, no significant progress has been made in this field since 2005. According to the EBRD & World Bank BEEPS Russia 2008, slightly less than half of the surveyed companies consider licences and permits as an area constituting a problem for conducting business in Russia.

New legislation on licensing was introduced in 2002, according to which, business licences were to be given on a five-year basis instead of for three years. However, according to a 2007 report by CEFIR, an independent Russian economic policy think tank, approximately 40% of licences issued had a shorter validity than the five years required by the legislation. Licence fees were set at RUB 1,400 instead of the previous RUB 3,000 and it was stated that inspection agencies were not allowed to inspect a company more than once every two years. The result was that the number of companies that had to apply for licences fell from 31% in the fall of 2001 to 14% in the spring of 2004. Fewer meetings between companies and licensing agencies entailed fewer possibilities for corruption. CEFIR 2007 reported that, although the number of companies needing licences had declined, the average price for a licence was twice the amount set by law. According to the US Department of State 2008, SMEs had been reporting fewer difficulties in obtaining licences and getting connected to basic utilities than previously, especially in the Moscow region.

Companies reportedly often hire a special person to deal with various inspectors and spend a significant amount of money on bribes. Companies offering consultancy services for foreign companies wanting to establish business in Russia work closely with licensing authorities - sometimes out of the same building. Such companies offer to take care of the licensing paperwork, charging between USD 300 and USD 6,000, according to Global Integrity 2008. However, this practice can accurately be regarded in some cases as the 'outsourcing of corruption'. A grim example of this practice comes from a regional office of the State Construction Committee, where the head of the regional office simultaneously ran a private company performing expert analysis of licence applications. The two doors with the same name on it were just across the hallway from each other. Local business associations managed to stop this practice, and the person had to leave his public job. Use due diligence tools to avoid 'outsourcing corruption'. 

Nevertheless, the multiple business inspections by government officials came to a halt in 2009, when a law countering the bureaucratic procedures and red tape was enforced. Namely, in December 2008, the State Duma passed in its third reading a bill intended to reduce the multitude of inspections and red tape that companies are subjected to. The bill sought to further limit the number and total duration of planned state inspections of a company, as well as ban law enforcement agencies from carrying out tax inspections without a request from tax authorities and from confiscating documents without providing companies with stamped photocopies. Furthermore, in July 2010, new laws were enacted which would make it easier for foreign companies to receive registration permits, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. According to a business survey by Novie Izvestiya, cited in a July 2010 article by The Moscow Times, as a result of the law reducing the number of inspections of companies, the size of business bribes has reportedly increased.

According to Global Integrity 2010, business inspections remain one of the most lucrative occupations among public officials and one of the most corrupt sectors of civil service. However, according to the report, in 2009, based on the new law, prosecutors rejected every second request for unscheduled business inspections of SMEs. Thus, while there were more than 20 million inspections in 2006 (excluding those by tax authorities and law enforcement), there were only 405,000 inspections carried out on SMEs in the first quarter of 2010, according to Global Integrity 2010.

The Prosecutor General's Office has launched a special section, Prosecutorial Supervision over Observance of Rights of Business Entities and Entrepreneurs, where businesspeople can launch complaints if their rights or legal interests have been violated.  

Individual Corruption

The judiciary is among the most corrupt public institutions in Russia, as illustrated by Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010. According to the report, more than a quarter of the surveyed households consider it as 'extremely corrupt', while a smaller part reports having paid a bribe in 2009. The courts are reported to be more corrupt in the lower echelons of the judicial hierarchy, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010. 

According to Freedom House 2011, Russia's reformed criminal procedure code has allowed jury trials in most of the country since 2003. While juries are more likely than judges to find defendants not guilty, these verdicts are frequently overturned by a higher court, which can send a case back for retrial as many times as necessary to achieve the desired outcome.

Business Corruption

According to the US Department of State 2011, independent dispute resolution in Russia can be difficult to obtain as the judicial system is still developing. Among the problems for companies mentioned by the report in relation to Russian courts is the lack of judicial independence and widespread corruption. Corruption ranges from bribes of judges and prosecutors to fabrication of evidence. Judges will in some cases trade favourable court rulings for bribes. According to the EBRD & World Bank BEEPS Russia 2008, bribes paid by companies are not uncommon in their dealings with courts, and a substantial part of the surveyed companies indicates that the functioning of the judiciary poses a problem for doing business in Russia.

According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, in surveys, businesspeople regularly state that court cases against state agencies are more likely to be unfair than cases against rival companies. To solve investment or trade disputes in Russia, foreign lawyers often refer foreign companies to international arbitration in Stockholm or to courts abroad. However, the problem is that the decisions taken abroad still have to be enforced in Russia. The bailiff system of enforcing court decisions is still not effective, and the bailiff ultimately reports to the Ministry of Justice and not the courts, according to the US Department of State 2011. Consequently, according to the report, the courts can do little to ensure the actual enforcement of decisions. On some occasions the bailiffs opt not to enforce specific court decisions. Freedom House 2009 reports that only half of Russian court decisions are actually implemented, and creditors typically receive only 20% of what they are owed, according to the Court Bailiff Service.

Political Corruption

According to Freedom House 2011, the judiciary lacks independence from the executive branch, in part because judges are often dependent on court chairmen for promotions and bonuses, and must follow Kremlin preferences in order to advance. Political interference in the selection of judges for individual cases is reportedly the norm. This is acknowledged by the GRECO Compliance Report 2011, according to which, the independence of the judiciary still remains a particularly critical matter to be addressed. In many instances, judges are pressured to decide in favour of state institutions, or feel associated with the state institution in question. 

This perception is supported by the findings of the former German justice minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger in Council of Europe Allegations of Politically-motivated Abuses of the Criminal Justice System in Council of Europe Member States 2009 report, in which she alleges widespread political abuse of the Russian courts. The report reveals that the practice of the so-called 'telephone justice' - an official calling and telling a judge how to rule - has evolved for the worse. Hence, according to Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Russian judges have become so worried about making a mistake that they call the officials themselves to ask for instructions. Furthermore, the report alleges that defence lawyers are often subjected to searches, seizures and 'other forms of pressure'. Nonetheless, at the same time, the report acknowledges some progress in the judicial system, such as salary raises for judges to reduce their susceptibility to corruption.

In the higher political levels, Russia has seen a number of cases of selective enforcement of law. The most prominent case is that of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was sentenced to 8 years in prison on charges of fraud and tax evasion. In the trial, formal court proceedings were violated in the interest of the government, thus revealing the executive influence over the legal system. Critics of the Kremlin argue that the trial was politically motivated, because Khodorkovsky posed a potential threat to President Putin. Khodorkovsky is now on trial on new embezzlement and money laundering charges and faces up to 22 more years in prison if convicted, as reported by ABC News. Following a conviction on new charges in December 2010, Khodorkovsky's prison term was extended until 2017, as alleged by Freedom House 2011. In February 2011, the chairman of Russia's Supreme Court suggested reviving an old Soviet practice under which a maximum sentence for a person charged with different crimes should not exceed the sentence attached to the most serious charge. For this reason, since Khodorkovsky has been in jail since October 2003, this would mean releasing him in October 2012, as reported in a 2011 article by The Economist.

In February 2009, the deputy head of the Russian Supreme Court, Alexander Karpov, resigned after his son was arrested on bribery charges. In addition, a senior official from the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, Russia's financial watchdog, was arrested on bribery charges in 2008, while in February 2009 Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin was accused of large-scale theft of state funds by a senior prosecutor.

According to the US Department of State 2010, increases in judges' salaries in 2009 have not resulted in any substantial reduction in judges' susceptibility to corruption. Nevertheless, as emphasised by the source, in the last four years, an average of 70 judges every year have been removed from office for various offences, including corruption and conflicts of interest. According to the US Department of State 2011, since April 2010, judges have had to disclose their incomes, real estate assets, and other kinds of property that they and their spouses and children own. The report outlines that while this represents a step in the right direction, it is too early to assess the law's impact.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012:
- Enforcing a commercial contract in Russia requires a company to go through 36 procedures, taking 281 days at a cost of 13.4% of the claim.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012:
- Business executives give the independence of the judiciary from influences of members of government, citizens, or companies a score of 2.6 on a 7-point scale (1 'heavily influenced' and 7 'entirely independent').

- Business executives give the efficiency of the legal framework for private companies to settle disputes and to challenge the legality of government actions and/or regulations a score of 2.8 and 2.7 respectively on a 7-point scale (1 'extremely inefficient' and 7 'highly efficient').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 28% of households surveyed consider the judiciary to be 'extremely corrupt'.

- 17.7% of households who had contact with the judiciary in 2009 report having paid a bribe.

- Citizens give the judiciary a score of 3.7 on a 5-point scale (1 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- Approximately 29% of companies surveyed believe that the court system is fair, impartial and uncorrupted.

EBRD & World Bank: BEEPS Russia 2008:
- 3% of companies surveyed state that bribery is frequent in dealing with courts.

- 44% of the companies surveyed report that the functioning of the judiciary poses a problem for doing business.

Individual Corruption

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010, the Russian police are considered to be the most corrupt public institution in the country. Similarly, in the US Department of State 2010, the national police force is characterised as widely corrupt, with few crackdowns on illegal police activity. Furthermore, according to the BRIBEline 2009, half of reported demands for bribes between 2007 and 2008 were from the police or the military. Demands for bribes are widespread particularly among the traffic police and patrol officers. Drivers that have been pulled over are accustomed to tucking in money with their papers when they hand them to officers. Moreover, although electronic traffic fine payments have been recently introduced as a way to reduce the number of bribes paid on the roads, it is reported that drivers continue to pay bribes to traffic police officers, mainly because it is time-consuming to wait in bank lines to pay the fines, according to a June 2010 article by The Moscow News.

In addition, there have been frequent reports of police extorting bribes to process registration applications and demanding them during spot checks for registration documentation, as cited in the US Department of State 2010.

According to First Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Buskman, approximately 14% of corruption cases take place in the area of law enforcement. This is supported by the figures from the Supreme Court, according to which, 31% of the officials imprisoned on corruption charges in 2008 were from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as reported in a 2009 article by Russia Today. According to President Medvedev, corruption cases investigated in the time frame January-June 2009 involved over 700 law enforcement officers.

In February 2011, following the January 2011 terror attack in Domodedovo airport, President Medvedev signed into law a bill that introduces vetting procedures for police officers as well as a salary increase, doubling the minimum pay to over USD 1,500 a month, according to a 2011 article by TrustLaw. Freedom House 2011 reports that Medvedev has left the top ranks of the law enforcement and security services largely unchanged, and there has been little progress on much-needed police reform.

According to a study by Transparency International, cited in a July 2011 article by INO-TV, Russian police laws have a number of loopholes, which open opportunities for corruption in this area. According to the article, currently Russian police officers have wide powers and possibilities for abuse of power, while, on the other hand, their responsibilities are not very clearly outlined and accountability is lacking. The study concludes that the largest risks of corruption by police officers occur in the process of document checks. The article also points out that Russia's laws on the police have not been through anti-corruption training.

Business Corruption

The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 reveals that companies identify Russia as performing poorly in relation to the reliability of police services to protect them from crime. This is corroborated by the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2009, which reveals that the majority of the surveyed companies pay for security in Russia, while a smaller part identifies crime, theft and disorder as major constraints to doing business in the country. Many companies report paying protection money to the police or to security companies as a necessary business expense.

In December 2008, the State Duma passed in its third reading a bill intended to reduce the multitude of inspections and red tape that companies are subjected to. The bill seeks to further limit the number and total duration of planned state inspections of a company, as well as banning law enforcement agencies from carrying out tax inspections without a request from tax authorities and from confiscating documents without providing companies with stamped photocopies, according to a December 2008 press release by the State Duma. 

Political Corruption

Corruption within the Russian police force permeates also the higher echelons of this institution. According to Global Integrity 2010, the investigative and enforcement work of Russian police is commonly influenced by political actors or the government. In regards to appointments to the police, these are usually based on political considerations; individuals appointed often have conflicts of interest due to personal or party loyalties, or family connections. Furthermore, in practice, law enforcement officers, particularly high-ranking figures, sometimes enjoy protection from criminal investigations.

A teacher at the Interior Ministry Law Institute of Tyumen, Igor Groshev, was sacked and sued after he revealed pervasive bribery by cadets at the Institute in 2006. The court found Groshev guilty of damaging the 'professional reputation' of the school. Groshev is still appealing the court verdict in higher instances, but experts in Russia believe that he does not have much of a chance, according to a 2009 article by CBS News.

In November 2009, Major Alexei Dymovsky, a Russian police officer from Novorossiysk, released a series of videos accusing senior police officers of corruption and appealing to Prime Minister Putin to tackle corruption in the police force. As a result of this appeal, Major Dymovsky was sacked and later prosecuted for abuse of office, according to a December 2009 article by Reuters. Regional police conducted their own investigation after the videos were released, which they said did not back up Dymovsky's allegations. In January 2010, Dymovsky was arrested on charges of fraud and corruption which carry a maximum of six years in prison, as reported in a January 2010 article by BBC News. However, he was later released from the detention centre under an oath not to leave the country. This case raises the suspicion of criminal charges being used as an instrumental weapon against critical voices.

In December 2009, President Medvedev removed the head of the tax-crimes unit in the Moscow police department, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Mikhalkin, alleged by the investment fund Hermitage Capital to be a key figure in criminal probes against the fund and to be implicated in a USD 230 million tax fraud, according to a 2009 article by The Wall Street Journal. The fund claims to have exposed a tax fraud that allegedly implicated the police, members of the judiciary, and tax officials. Consequently, the lawyer who investigated the tax fraud for Hermitage, Sergei Magnitsky, was detained on charges of tax evasion. Magnitsky died in pretrial detention in November 2009, and representatives of the Russian business and legal community as well as civil society actors have interpreted his arrest as a way to silence attempts to expose corruption in the country. In August 2011, Russian investigators were ordered to reopen the case of Magnitsky, which had been closed after his death in police custody, according to a 2011 article by RIA Novosti.

In an effort to stamp out corruption, in December 2009, President Medvedev signed a decree to streamline the law enforcement structure, in particular, ordering a 20% staff cut before January 2012 and instituting the rotation of senior personnel at the Interior Ministry, according to a December 2009 article by RIA Novosti. These redundancies will be balanced with higher salaries for those police officers that will survive the reform, making them less susceptible to bribery. In February 2010, Medvedev dismissed two deputy interior ministers and 15 other top officials as part of the anti-corruption campaign. Also, a top anti-corruption police chief, Alexander Bokov, was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on charges of extorting USD 46 million from a businessman. In August 2011, Medvedev ordered the country's secret services to publish online disclosures to make their activities more transparent and accessible for citizens, as reported in a 2011 article by Bloomberg.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012:
- Business executives give the reliability of Russian police services to enforce law and order a score of 2.6 on a 7-point scale (1 'cannot be relied upon at all' and 7 'can always be relied upon').

Levada Centre Poll 2010 cited in Agence France-Presse:

- 67% of citizens surveyed report that they fear the police.

- 77% of citizens surveyed report they do not feel safe against arbitrary police behaviour.

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 27.7% of households who had contact with the police in 2009 report having paid a bribe.

- On average, citizens give the police a score of 3.9 on a 5-point scale (1 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- More than 77% of the surveyed companies pay for security in Russia.

- Over 38% of companies surveyed identify crime, theft and disorder as a major constraint on doing business in Russia.

Individual Corruption

Many citizens identify the process of obtaining licences and permits as corrupt, as illustrated by Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010. Citizens sometimes report either offering or being required to pay a bribe in connection with obtaining permits, medical services or when dealing with the Russian education system.

Individual Corruption

Business Corruption

The US Department of State 2008 reports that standards and procedures when dealing with licences and permits are frequently prolonged and opaque. The myriad of inspections, many of which are arbitrary, and red tape that companies are subjected to contributes to a high degree of corruption in the area of licensing and permits. The high perception of corruption has been supported in Medvedev's speech from March 2008, in which he cited the officials from the fire and sanitary services as prone to arbitrary inspections and extorting bribes from small companies, as reported by Reuters. Nevertheless, the new December 2008 law limits the number and total duration of planned state inspections of a company. However, according to a business survey by Novie Izvestiya, cited in a July 2010 article by The Moscow Times, as a result of this law, the size of a business bribe has reportedly increased. For more information on this, see the profile's special page on information on obtaining business licences and permits in Russia.

According to Global Integrity 2010, in practice, business inspections by government officials to ensure public health and safety standards are usually carried out in an arbitrary and ad-hoc manner, and bribes are paid by companies in return for favourable treatment or expedited processing. The report alleges that business inspections are one of the most lucrative occupations among public officials and one of the most corrupt sectors of civil service. According to the report, it is common for companies to hire a special person to deal with various inspectors and spend a significant amount of money on bribes. However, in 2009, based on the new law, prosecutors rejected one out of two requests for unscheduled business inspections of SMEs. Thus, while there were more than 20 million inspections in 2006 (excluding those by tax authorities and law enforcement), there were only 405,000 inspections carried out on SMEs in the first quarter of 2010, according to Global Integrity 2010.

Licensing procedures in Russia can be a very serious hurdle for foreign investors. The World Bank & IFC Doing Business 2011 cites licensing as the most burdensome business activity compared to other areas of doing business in Russia and when compared to other countries. The licensing system has been reformed in recent years, and the outcome has made it easier, faster and cheaper for SMEs to register and complete the proper paperwork. The World Bank & IFC Doing Business 2012 notes some improvements in Russia's performance in dealing with construction permits, with noteworthy reductions in the time and costs related to this process when compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, business executives surveyed in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 consider government administrative requirements in Russia, such as licences and permits, quite burdensome.

IKEA's founder Ingvar Kamprad went on Swedish radio in 2009 to complain that the company had been cheated out of USD millions by Russians overcharging for electricity, according to the New York Times. Kamprad links these problems to IKEA's decision not to pay bribes in Russia. Subsequently, in June 2009, IKEA announced that it was suspending further investment in Russia, apparently because of pervasive corruption and demands for bribes. Also, IKEA reported that it would not build more stores outside the Moscow region until local officials stop withholding permission for two outlets in the cities of Samara and Ufa, according to a March 2011 article by Bloomberg.

Political Corruption

In August 2009, the former head of Mandatory Health Insurance Fund Andrei Taranov was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined on corruption charges, as reported in a 2009 article by RIA Novosti. In an earlier high-profile corruption case, health officials, charged with receiving a total of USD 865,000 in bribes, received prison terms ranging to nine years. The court established that these officials released insurance funds to local authorities in exchange for 3-5% kickbacks. According to RIA Novosti, the scandal damaged the reputation of the then health minister Mikhail Zurabov, who was subsequently dismissed.

An illustration of the effectiveness of President Medvedev's asset disclosure policy has been the September 2010 dismissal of a high-ranking Ministry of Defence official, the major general Viktor Gaydukov, who was in charge of Russia's nuclear defence. Gaydukov was dismissed for not revealing his income as well as the income of his wife and children. This step has been viewed by Russian political analysts as a demonstration of the fact that Medvedev takes transparency issues and the fight against corruption seriously, according to a September 2010 article by RT TV.

According to the Accounts Chamber's June 2010 report, cited in the US Department of State 2010, Russia's preparations for the country's participation in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which cost around USD 200 million, involved corruption.

Furthermore, according to the US Department of State 2010, the lawyer, blogger and whistle-blower Aleksey Navalniy published a series of detailed reports and materials outlining corruption in the construction of major energy pipelines in Russia in November 2010. According to a February 2011 article by The Guardian, Navalny's website has exposed USD 4 billion in alleged government fraud. As a result of his efforts, authorities opened an investigation into the allegations, which is still pending. Nevertheless, according to a March 2011 article by The New York Times, after the documents were published, the government opened a criminal investigation against Navalny, which involves him allegedly giving bad investment advice to a regional government several years ago, when he worked as an adviser to a local governor. That investigation is also pending.

In February 2011, a former official at the State Federal Reserve Agency was imprisoned for 11 years in a military corruption scandal that cost the government about USD 55 million. The official was accused of illegally including four fighter jets, worth about USD 4 million each, on a list of state assets to be sold, according to a February 2011 article by The Moscow Times.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012:
- The number of annual licensing procedures related to opening a warehouse is 51, while the average time spent dealing with licences is 423 days - both figures are above the regional average.

- The associated cost of dealing with these licences is 183.8% of income per capita, which is more than twice less the regional average.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012:
- Business executives give government administrative requirements (permits, regulations, reporting) in Russia a score of 2.4 on a 7-point scale (1 'extremely burdensome' and 7 'not burdensome at all').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 8.6% of households who had contact with registry and permit services in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- 20.7% of households who had contact with medical services in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- More than 18% of households who had contact with education system in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- More than one-third of the surveyed households consider public officials to be 'extremely corrupt'.

- Citizens give Russian civil servants a score of 3.9 on a 5-point scale (1 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt'), thus, perceiving it as one of the most affected by corruption categories in the country.

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- More than 22% of companies expect to give gifts to get an operating licence.

- 39% of companies expect to give gifts to get a construction permit.

- Over 21% of companies expect to give gifts to get an electrical connection.

- Over 13% of companies expect to give gifts to get a water connection.

- Almost 23.5% of companies identify business licensing and permits as a major constraint on doing business.

EBRD & World Bank: BEEPS Russia 2008:
- 48% of the companies surveyed indicated that business licensing and permits posed a problem for doing business in Russia.

Individual Corruption

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010, a considerable amount of Russian households point to the interaction with land authorities as an area where bribes are often demanded. Moreover, households perceive land matters to be distorted by grand and political corruption, according to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2009.

Business Corruption

The Bertelsmann Foundation 2010 reports that although the legal provisions related to the acquisition of property are practical; they are not, however, consistently implemented nor adequately safeguarded by law, especially against state intervention. For example, in 'strategic sectors' such as the oil industry, the state seems to systematically reduce the share of private owners through administrative pressures, which leads either to confiscations or to negotiated sales. In turn, such an environment could potentially fuel corruption.

Similarly, according to the US Department of State 2011, although transparency in land matters and respect for property rights are gradually improving, they still remain key concerns for foreign investors and companies. Accordingly, while the government has taken important steps to improve the legal framework for property protection, effective enforcement remains a challenge.

Political Corruption

According to CEFIR 2007, an increase in procedural transparency for both the purchasing and leasing of land has encouraged a significant decrease in the incidents of bribe pressure on the part of bureaucrats during these procedures.

According to Freedom House 2011, state takeovers of key industries, coupled with large tax penalties imposed on select companies, have illustrated the precarious nature of property rights in the country, especially when political interests are involved.

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Report 2009, the Moscow City district prosecutor, Vladimir Samoilov, as well as several other top prosecutors were found to have falsified cases against private companies and illegally confiscated their property; the value of the property was estimated to be as much as USD 22 million.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012:
- It takes an average of 5 procedures and 42 days at a cost of 0.3% of the property value to register property and secure property rights.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012:
- Business executives give the protection of property rights in Russia, including financial assets, a score of 2.8 on a 7-point scale (1 'very weak' and 7 'very strong').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- More than 20% of the households surveyed reported to have paid a bribe to land services in 2009.

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009:
- 16% of the households surveyed reported to have paid a bribe to land services in 2008.

- 50% of households consider grand or political corruption in land matters to be a 'very serious problem'.

- 46% of respondents consider bribes to land authorities to obtain favourable decisions a 'very serious problem' in Russia.

CEFIR: Monitoring of the Administrative Barriers to Small Business Development in Russia 2007:
- 80% of companies surveyed that bought the premises from the government spent an average of approximately 1.5 months on the procedure.

- The remaining 20% of companies surveyed spent around six months on the procedure.

Individual Corruption

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010, only a small percentage of the surveyed households reported having paid a bribe to tax officials the previous year. 

Allegedly, well over one third of all wage payments are made in cash to avoid paying taxes, and this even happens in state agencies. According to a CDI 2008 report on the Institute for Public Projects (INOP) and Institute for Comparative Social Research (CESSI) bribery price-list, getting tax arrears eliminated costs 30-50% of the sum of the arrears.

Business Corruption

Among companies surveyed in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012, tax regulations are identified to be among the most problematic factors for doing business in Russia. In line with this, the US Department of State 2011 alleges that businesspeople in Russia continue to complain about problems connected to the country's tax administration. According to the report, foreign companies have complained about arbitrary treatment by the Russian tax police. Namely, the tax police reportedly make no distinction between overt tax-evaders and inexperienced SMEs who do not fully understand the bookkeeping requirements. According to the US Department of State 2011, companies often have little recourse other than the courts to resolve tax disputes. 

In addition, the EBRD & World Bank BEEPS Russia 2008, companies claim to make informal payments when dealing with tax officials.

A former board member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, Jamison Firestone, has complained that Interior Ministry officials have made two attempts to obtain USD 21 million in taxes that a company he is a director of paid to the government. Firestone has alleged that the perpetrators forged his signature and corporate seals to seek tax rebates, according to a February 2010 article by Business Week.

At the Russian economic forum in 2009, aluminium major Alcoa's head Klaus Kleinfeld complained that the red tape was stifling business in Russia; Kleinfeld's company had namely to submit 47,000 pages of documents to regional tax inspectors, according to a June 2009 article by Reuters.

Political Corruption

Global Integrity 2010 reports that, in practice, tax law is unequally applied in Russia, and tax evasion is widespread. Some groups, most notably large companies favoured by the government or other influential actors, often avoid paying taxes due to their connections. This environment of arbitrariness in tax regulations could create opportunities for corruption.

Moreover, according to the report, with regard to major taxpayers, the trial of the YUKOS oil company shows that the tax police can be used by the state to prosecute certain individuals, like YUKOS' Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was sentenced to time in prison on charges of tax evasion for political reasons.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012:
- Medium-sized companies must make 9 tax payments annually (several times less the regional average), taking 290 hours to complete at a total tax rate of nearly 47% of profits.

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- Roughly 6% of households who had contact with tax revenue services throughout 2009 report having paid a bribe.

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- Over 17.4% of the surveyed companies expect to give gifts in meetings with tax officials.

EBRD & World Bank: BEEPS Russia 2008:
- 9% of the companies surveyed reported that bribery in connection with taxes and tax collection is widespread.

- On average, the surveyed companies were inspected by tax authorities 3.2 times a year.

Business Corruption

Customs administration is considered prone to corruption by companies as well as individual citizens. According to the EBRD & World Bank BEEPS Russia 2008, informal payments are sometimes requested in dealings with customs officials. In addition, the World Economic Forum Global Enabling Trade Report 2010 points out that time-consuming bureaucracy related to trade across borders opens the way for public officials to demand bribes in Russia. For example, trade is impeded by customs procedures that lack efficiency, and exporting and importing require time-consuming paperwork to clear goods at the border. Corruption and bribery in these processes are not uncommon.

Several sources point to the fact that customs officers' wages do not match the temptation to demand bribes. Russian border officers are paid about USD 300 per month, and on a monthly basis deal with customs and export duties totalling USD 300 million. Global Integrity 2008 reports that corruption and unofficial payments in relation to customs are routine. According to a CDI 2008 report on the Institute for Public Projects (INOP) and Institute for Comparative Social Research (CESSI) bribery price-list, to get customs duties cut down costs 30-50% of the sum of the price at which they were evaluated. 

Following reports on corruption and illegal seizure of goods in the customs service in 2006, the Federal Customs Service approved an anti-corruption programme, including paying informants and putting surveillance on customs officers.

Political Corruption

Global Integrity 2010 reports that, in practice, customs and excise laws are not enforced uniformly and without discrimination in practice, and some groups, such as well-connected companies, may consistently evade customs laws.

The customs service generates approximately 40% of the federal budget revenue in Russia, and is therefore one of the most profitable government structures.

Customs services are provided by the Federal Customs Service of Russia. In 2006, following allegations of corruption, former President Putin sacked a number of senior customs administration officials and transferred the service from the Ministry of Trade and Development to direct supervision under Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. This move was welcomed by business leaders in Russia, as the customs administration is notorious for inefficiency, bribery and abuse of power.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012:
- A standard export shipment of goods requires 8 documents and 36 days at an average cost of USD 1,850 per container.

- A standard import shipment of goods requires 10 documents and 36 days at an average cost of USD 1,800 per container.

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- Almost 11% of households who had contact with the customs authorities throughout 2009 report having paid a bribe.

World Economic Forum: The Global Enabling Trade Report 2010:
- Business executives give the efficiency of customs procedures (formalities regulating the entry and exit of merchandise) in Russia a score of 2.7 on a 7-point scale (1 'extremely inefficient' and 7 'extremely efficient').

- Business executives give the transparency of border administration (pervasiveness of undocumented extra payments or bribes connected with imports and exports) a score of 2.7 on a 7-point scale (1 'extremely inefficient' and 7 'extremely efficient').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- 19.3% of the trade companies surveyed identify Russian customs and trade regulations as a major constraint on doing business.

- Over 29% of companies surveyed expect to give gifts to get an import licence.

EBRD & World Bank: BEEPS Russia 2008:
- 6% of the companies surveyed stated that bribery is frequent in dealing with customs/imports.

Business Corruption

Public procurement regulations can be found at the official public procurement website. According to Global Integrity 2010, at the local level, depending on the region in question, tender notices can be publicly available or information can be totally lacking to everyone except for a few selected bidders.

Many companies consider information regarding rules and regulations on public tendering inadequate or have regularly witnessed non-transparent practices. According to Global Integrity 2010, sometimes the state only shares information with selected bidders, spawning accusations of pre-selecting winners, in other instances, the terms and conditions for bidding are specified so that few companies can actually bid (single sourcing). Kickbacks are common, and there are reports of companies paying no less than a 16% in kickbacks in order to obtain a government contract. Moreover, Global Integrity 2010 reports that in practice companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations are not prohibited from participating in future procurement bids, and this loophole allows corrupt officials to partner with bad suppliers.

In February 2010, IKEA dismissed two senior executives in Russia, the director for IKEA in Eastern Europe, Per Kaufmann, and the director for the company's shopping mall business in Russia, Stefan Gross, for allowing a contractor to pay a bribe to an electrical company official, as reported in a 2010 article by The New York Times. According to the article, the details about what these executives are accused of are not known, but the payment involved electricity supplies at two malls in St. Petersburg. Allegedly, in an effort to outmanoeuvre corrupt utility officials, IKEA began renting diesel generators to power IKEA stores so that the malls could never be closed down during negotiations. However, as reported by the article, this plan did not stop corruption at the St. Petersburg stores, and eventually the generator rental company found a Russian executive in IKEA's ranks willing to take kickbacks. In exchange for the payment, the Russian executive had allegedly encouraged IKEA's Swedish leadership to overpay for the generators.

In April 2010, the offices of Hewlett-Packard in Moscow were raided by law enforcement officers to probe into allegations that its executives paid USD millions to win a government contract, as reported in an April 2010 article by RIA Novosti. According to the source, the probe is part of an investigation being conducted by German prosecutors who are looking into allegations that Hewlett-Packard executives paid about USD 10.9 million in bribes in 2003 to win a multi-million dollar contract. Hewlett-Packard allegedly sold computer equipment through a German subsidiary to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office. Companies are recommended to use a specialised public procurement due diligence tool in order to mitigate the corruption risks associated with public procurement in Russia.

See more on public procurement under 'Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives' in the Initiatives section.

Political Corruption

Public procurement in Russia can be characterised as still open to manipulation, although regulation has been improved, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010.

Also, the Prosecutor General's Office notes that many corruption crimes occur in the sphere of public procurement. For instance, no guidelines exist on how to determine prices on procured property. As a result, procurement officials tend to rely not on market prices but on the volume of budget financing, as reported in a December 2009 article by Moskovski Komsomolets. 

The Prosecutor General conducted a study in November 2009, which found that it is quite common for state companies to illegally interfere with procurement processes, such as to violate tender and outsourcing rules, according to Freedom House 2010. Nevertheless, in October 2010, President Medvedev called for a cleanup of the state tender process, through which the state loses up to USD 33 billion each year, or one-tenth of federal spending, according to Freedom House 2011. According to Global Integrity 2010, government procurement in Russia has become more regulated and transparent as compared to previous years.

Russian authorities continue to investigate allegations of corruption over the procurement of Daimler AG cars for government purposes. Daimler was fined USD 185 million by a US court in April 2010 for violating the FCPA. Daimler admitted to paying tens of millions of USD in bribes to foreign governments, including the Russian government, as reported by BBC News. Furthermore, according to Kommersant, in 2000-2005 alone, Russian officials received well over USD 6 million as kickbacks from Daimler, as cited in an April 2010 article by RIA Novosti. According to the source, among the cars delivered to Russia under such contracts were Mercedes for top Russian officials, including the president, the prime minister, top judges, and parliament speakers.

In September 2010, President Medvedev dismissed Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov amid allegations that Luzhkov showed favouritism towards his wife in approving contracts. This dismissal has been seen by some critics as politically motivated, according to a September 2010 article by Bloomberg.

See more on public procurement under 'Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives' in the Initiatives section.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012:
- Business executives give the diversion of public funds to companies, individuals, or groups due to corruption a score of 2.4 on a 7-point scale (1 'very common' and 7 'never occurs').

- Business executives give the favouritism of government officials towards well-connected companies and individuals when deciding upon policies and contracts a score of 2.5 on a 7-point scale (1 'always show favouritism' and 7 'never show favouritism').

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- More than 46% of the companies surveyed expect to give gifts to secure a government contract.

- The average value of gift given to secure a government contract amounts to almost 4% of the contract value.

EBRD & World Bank: BEEPS Russia 2008:
- The value of an unofficial payment made to secure a government contract typically constitutes 4.1% of the contract value.

Business Corruption

According to companies, information on environmental protection requirements is difficult to obtain. Exploitation of natural resources such as oil and gas is controlled largely by the state and by a few large national companies. Particularly in oil and gas investments, Russian officials at both the federal and local levels frequently raise environmental concerns as considerations in the approval process for investments, as pointed out in the US Department of State 2009. According to the report, in some instances, it is difficult to say whether such concerns are genuine. Similarly, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, environmental concerns are only on the political agenda when they promise to deliver clear material short-term advantages and can be used to put pressure on unwanted investors.

According to Freedom House 2010, the government has forcibly changed the terms of Western oil and gas companies working in Russia.

According to the Prosecutor General Office, compliance with environmental legislation is problematic and illegal resource extraction activities continue.

Companies report that bribery is common when dealing with environmental inspections in Russia. This should be seen in the context of the high levels of corruption in relation to different kinds of government inspections. Thus, Global Integrity 2010 reports that business inspections by government officials to ensure public environmental standards are usually carried out in an arbitrary and ad-hoc manner, and bribes are often extracted from companies in return for favourable treatment or expedited processing.

Political Corruption

Russia has vast amounts of natural resources, notably oil and gas. The oil and gas sector accounts for more than 40% of its export revenues. In the energy sector, the link between state and private companies is strong, as the state has consolidated its ownership and control through its shareholding of extractive companies, such as Gazprom. Private shareholding (also foreign), however, has been allowed.

Corruption in relation to natural resources exists also at a political level in Russia. For instance, according to Reuters, kickbacks paid to senior officials who hold sway over Russia's natural resources are common. The existence of a pervasive political corruption in relation to environment in Russia is also supported by Transparency International's Corruption & the Environment 2006 report. According to this report, in some governments, legislation and regulation exist to facilitate corruption rather than to protect the environment. The report presents Russia as an example of such a government; here the laws in place to protect endangered fish are used in practice by officials to profit from bribes.

Furthermore, there have been reports that corrupt officials largely control illegal hunting and trafficking in endangered and protected species through the issuance of licences and other permits in return for bribes and other illegal benefits, as cited by the US Department of State 2010.

• Legislation: President Medvedev submitted a draft anti-corruption bill On Counteraction to Corruption to the State Duma in October 2008, as part of the National Anti-Corruption Plan (see below) and Russia's international obligations stemming from the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, to which Russia is a party. Russia is also a member to the Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), but according to a May 2011 article by Moscow Times, Russia has only carried out about one-third of the 26 anti-corruption obligations required by GRECO. In May 2011, Russia joined the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions which is a necessary step for acceding to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. The anti-corruption package, the Anti-Corruption Legislation, was passed by the Duma in its third reading and adopted on 30 December 2008, coming into force on 10 January 2009 and consists of three principle laws and numerous amendments. The new anti-corruption laws gave, for the first time in Russia, a wide definition of corruption which criminalises corruption in the form of active and passive bribery, abuse of office, commercial bribery, trading in influence both in public and private sectors and corruption by agents. The anti-corruption package has widened the definition of commercial bribery in the Criminal Code to include non-commercial organisations in the scope of the law and has slightly raised the penalty for the infringement. The penalty is a fine of up to three times of the inducement, but no less than RUB 1 million, and the seizure of the transferred money, securities or other property. The new legislation requires state and municipal officials to declare their income and property and the property and income of their spouses and underage children, and obliges officials to report all actual, attempted and suspected corruption. In May 2009, President Medvedev signed five additional decrees expanding the number of officials who will have to declare their incomes and property and detailing the disclosure procedures, according to The Moscow Times. In addition to state officials, heads of notoriously non-transparent state corporations will be obliged to declare the incomes and property owned by them and their family members. Also, all law-enforcement officials have had to declare their incomes since January 2010, while another pending bill seeks to increase the maximum prison term for crimes committed by police officers. These initiatives are part of the government's efforts to crack down on corruption in the law enforcement, where regular and traffic police are widely seen as corrupt. Nevertheless, despite these developments, President Medvedev has acknowledged that corrupt officials still use proxies to hide assets, or send their gains offshore. In addition, he has described the progress in fighting corruption so far as 'extremely modest' and emphasised that there is still no mechanism to check and verify the declarations that public officials make, as reported by The Washington Times. The legislation has also, for the first time, defined conflict of interest in connection to public officials and extended anti-corruption legislation to the military. Another aspect of the Anti-Corruption Legislation is a more simplified Criminal Code to make it easier to bring corrupt judges to account. Restrictions on gifts have also been incorporated into the legislation; accordingly, state officials may not accept presents worth more than RUB 3,000 and gifts of higher values become state property. However, in future, state officials will be banned from accepting gifts altogether, which is a measure in line with the recommendations from the GRECO Evaluation Report 2008. In addition, in line with these recommendations, officials will lose their immunity, while bribe-takers will have their assets seized, as reported in a May 2010 article by The Moscow Times. The aforementioned measures remain in the legislative pipeline. Another anti-corruption measure has been the income and asset declaration requirement for judges, which has been enforced as of April 2010. Most recently, a 2011 presidential decree has been issued which will seek to counter conflict of interest among public office holders. Thus, according to a March 2011 article by The Moscow Times, this decree requires former public officials to apply to the head of the anti-corruption committee of the presidential council if they seek to work in any field connected with their state duties over the previous two years. In addition, the President has proposed increasing fines for officials caught taking bribes to up to 100 times the size of the bribe, in an attempt to amend the current Criminal Code and as part of measures to fight corruption. At the same time, the ruling United Russia's party leadership has been considering to draft a bill obliging United Russia candidates to declare their expenses. Also, all State Duma deputies and officials would be forced to publicise their income and expenses. A relevant bill has not been drafted yet. On a less positive note, a bill debating Article 20 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption on 'illicit enrichment' of public officials (defined as a 'significant increase in the assets' of an official that cannot be 'reasonably explained' in terms of the official's income) has been delayed. According to Global Integrity 2010, Russia exhibits a significant implementation gap, meaning that many laws on the paper are poorly enforced. For more information, access a Legal500 report on Russia's Anti-Corruption Legislation. For further information on Russian legislation generally, access Russian Law Online.

• Government Strategies: The appearance of concrete, detailed government anti-corruption strategies is a relatively recent development in Russia. Anti-corruption has featured prominently on President Medvedev's political platform and one of the first measures in this regard was the decree On Anti-Corruption Measures, which he signed in May 2008. The decree ordered the formation of the Presidential Council for Combating Corruption (CCC) with the President at its head, and mandated the CCC to draft the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP). The NACP was adopted by President Medvedev on 31 July 2008 and contains four sections: 1) measures for legislative provisions to combat corruption and a number of new legislative concepts connected with bringing into line the current legislature with several international conventions; 2) measures to improve and streamline public administration in order to prevent and punish corruption and conflicts of interest, improve rules of government procurement, transfer a portion of the functions of federal government agencies to regions or to the private sector, and improve the monitoring procedure including via civil society mechanisms; 3) measures to improve the professional level of legal personnel and legal education and to actively use the media as well as civil society organisations in the fight against corruption; and 4) priority measures to implement the NACP by stimulating the activities of government bodies at both federal and local levels to develop measures in the fight against corruption. President Medvedev has also announced new anti-corruption regulations aimed at closing legal loopholes and preventing conflicts of interest that create new opportunities for corruption and forcing senior officials to annually declare their assets in accordance with new procedures for doing so. Critics however charge the NACP and the Anti-Corruption Legislation with being too simplistic and equating prevention with punishment. President Medvedev has himself said that the latest years' legal measures have achieved results that are only 'modest in the extreme' and that there is a need for further reform. However, his mention of the role of independent organisations and the media in corruption prevention is significant, as is Russia's cooperation with an independent international monitoring team of the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and approval of the inspection team's recommendations. In April 2010, part of the GRECO's recommendations were addressed with the approval of the Anti-Corruption Strategy 2010-2011 (in Russian) by the Presidential Council for Combating Corruption. Reportedly, the new strategy is far more concrete than the NACP and will provide for more official accountability. Moreover, it envisages harsher fines for corrupt activities and greater public oversight of government budgets, according to an April 2010 article by The Moscow Times. However, critics have pointed out that the new strategy lacks sufficient analysis, as well as not properly addressing concerns about civil society concerns. Furthermore, according to the GRECO Compliance Report 2011, although the adoption of the Strategy was an important achievement, nevertheless, the existing monitoring mechanisms related to the fight against corruption, especially in regards to the assessment of the impact of anti-corruption measures in various sectors, are in need of more input from civil society. 

• Anti-Corruption Agencies: No specific anti-corruption agency with competences to investigate and prosecute corruption has been established in Russia. The Federal Security Service (FSB, in Russian) and the Prosecutor General's Office are the two bodies responsible for fighting corruption. In addition, almost all law enforcement agencies have set up their own internal departments to deal with corruption within their own ranks. As emphasised by the US Department of State 2010, the FSB and the Prosecutor General's Office have both previously been associated with corruption scandals, which have led some observers to conclude that the organisations are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. The Prosecutor General set up a specific anti-corruption department in August 2007 to focus on enforcing anti-corruption legislation, to investigate suspicions of corruption and to press charges against offenders. The Prosecutor General's Office is also in charge of supervising the activities of an interdepartmental anti-corruption working group. In July 2008, the Prosecutor General's Office created a webpage (in Russian) for citizens to report corrupt practices by public officials. In February 2010, the Prosecutor General's Office established principles and procedures for evaluating the anti-corruption aspects of draft laws and regulations in order to avoid inconsistencies and loopholes. Both the FSB and the Prosecutor General are under heavy political pressure, as the heads of these institutions are de facto appointed by the President and can be dismissed accordingly. Also Global Integrity 2010 reports that the FSB and the Prosecutor General are not effectively protected from political interference. According to the report, the appointments to the body are usually made based on political considerations, and individuals appointed may have clear party loyalties. Also, the heads of these institutions are in practice not protected from removal without relevant justification. A general critique raised by observers is that many anti-corruption institutions exist, but that there is still little coordination of their efforts. The Prosecutor General's Office reported that in 2009 over 3,500 officials were convicted on corruption charges, according to a March 2010 article by Business Week. Overall, while there have been prosecutions for corruption, a general lack of enforcement remains a problem.

• Other Executive and Legislative Bodies: President Medvedev decreed the creation of the Presidential Council for Combating Corruption (CCC) in May 2008, appointing himself as its head. The CCC was mandated to draft the National Anti-Corruption Plan and is intended to provide a forum for the development of measures, coordination of executive agencies and control over policy implementation that fall under the CCC's authority. An Anti-Corruption Parliamentary Commission (in Russian) has also been set up, which analyses laws and draft bills to detect flaws that could make them vulnerable to corruption. The Ministry of the Interior is setting up a register of all public officials who have ever been indicted for abuse of office and fraud. The ministry furthermore collects information on the amount of corruption crimes in Russia.

• Accounts Chamber: The Accounts Chamber is the supreme audit institution in Russia. The primary function of the Accounts Chamber is to oversee the handling of federal assets. The Accounts Chamber has 12 auditors that investigate financial mismanagement and submit their reports to the State Duma, law enforcement and regulatory bodies, such as the Prosecutor General's Office. According to an assessment by Global Integrity 2010, the appointments to the Accounts Chamber do not sufficiently support its independence from the executive; thus, appointments may be politically influenced, and individuals appointed may have clear party loyalties. According to the report, the government does not always react on the findings of the audit institution and may sometimes ignore or give only superficial attention to the audit reports. Reports are published on the Accounts Chamber's website and have revealed the existence of widespread financial violations, amounting to hundreds of billions of RUB each year, in federally and regionally funded government projects. The Account Chamber has a professional, full-time staff, although high-ranking auditors have often been linked to corruption scandals, including the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber, Sergey V. Stepashin. In 2007, an internal audit body was established at the Accounts Chamber to tackle corruption within its own ranks. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, there is no effective audit in Russia and reports by the Chamber have on most occasions been ignored. In addition, in relation to anti-corruption efforts, state auditors allegedly lack enforcement powers. According to Global Integrity 2010, government conflicts of interest safeguards and checks and balances are inadequate, with effective oversight of the executive a major challenge.

• Financial Monitoring: The Federal Finance Monitoring Service (FFMS, Rosfinmonitoring - in Russian) monitors financial transactions in Russia. The service was reorganised in March 2004 and monitors all property contracts and transactions exceeding RUB 3 million. Organisations are obliged to inform the FFMS when carrying out such transactions.

• Human Rights Commissioner (in Russian): The Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) is selected by the President and appointed by the State Duma. Although the institutional setup has led critics to question the Human Rights Commission's independence, current Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin reportedly has the reputation of being free from government interference. The Human Rights Commission can and does initiate investigations, but it has no authority to impose penalties on offenders. Rather, the Human Rights Commission can publicise the results of an investigation and submit them to the Duma for review. According to Global Integrity 2010, the Human Rights Commissioner is not sufficiently protected from political interference in practice and may sometimes be influenced by political or personal incentives, including conflicting family relationships, professional relationships, as well as threats and abuses of power. The Human Rights Commission produces reports annually, which are publicised via the media and the Internet (access the Human Rights Commissioner Report 2010 - in Russian). However, according to Global Integrity 2010, these reports are rarely of much consequence, as the work of this institution is often treated with indifference by other government bodies. Thus, according to the same report, although President Medvedev met with the current Human Rights Commissioner on a regular basis, the activities of the office are of almost no interest to the government and the president. It is further reported that law enforcement agencies and the judiciary are often reluctant and sometimes unwilling to cooperate with the Human Rights Commission in its work to uphold human rights and combat corruption. Half of the complaints reaching the Human Rights Commission in 2007 concerned violations of the rights of citizens by officials working in the militia, prosecutors' offices, courts or penal system, of which many were connected with the failure to enforce judicial decisions. The number of cases filed in the European Court of Human Rights against Russia each year has climbed sharply, from 8% of all cases in 2000 to nearly 30% in 2008, as reported by The Washington Post.

• E-Governance: The Russian government launched a USD multi-billion e-governance project, e-Russia, in 2002. As a consequence of the project, a government portal (in Russian) has been created linking federal government ministries and agencies and services, including customs, taxation and procurement. Several regions have participated in pilot e-governance initiatives to offer services and information to citizens and companies. The project has been scheduled to end in 2012. The project envisions the implementation of e-governance across all public sector agencies to increase government efficiency and information transparency, and to reduce administrative barriers for citizens and companies interacting with the government. Vice Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin reported in August 2009 that the Russian government will approve a schedule of providing 60 public services in electronic form, according to a 2009 article by Alinga Consulting Group. Earlier in 2009, Medvedev expressed frustration at a lack of progress in the implementation of the e-governance programme in Russia. As a consequence, a new committee to address this problem was set up - the Presidential Council for the Development of the Information Society. As the first top priority, the government will create information centres to ensure interdepartmental information exchange and access to the data of government information systems. The system will provide a wide range of government services in electronic form and create a single information system for all agencies and ministries. As reported at the Russian Government's Official Website, by mid-2010 in many regions government agencies had set up their own multi-functional public service centres and websites with a unified information system. Creation of similar centres is underway in other regions.

• Public Procurement: Rules and regulations for public procurement in Russia are regarded by many companies as defective due to unclear tender criteria. A Law on Concessions was adopted by the Duma in July 2005. The objective of the law is to reduce the role of government as a direct investor in infrastructure activities that the government does not intend to privatise. This is particularly the case for highways, pipelines, power plants and grids, airports and railways. The prospects of this law and its absence of formal discrimination between foreign and domestic investors were reportedly welcomed by foreign investors. By law, major procurements require competitive bidding. Notices of Federal Public Procurements can be found on the official Russian Federation Procurement website (Russian only). However, in practice, the provision to ensure competitive bidding is not enforced satisfactorily at the local level. Depending on the circumstances, tenders can be awarded after full-scale open and competitive bidding or after an entirely closed process, where the full tender material is available only to selected bidders, according to Global Integrity 2010. By law, unsuccessful bidders can ask for an official review of the bidding process and challenge the concrete procurement decision in the court. Moreover, Global Integrity 2010 reports that in practice companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations are not prohibited from participating in future procurement bids, and this loophole allows corrupt officials to partner with bad suppliers. To enhance transparency, two organisations, the Electric Goods Traders Association and an interregional NGO, have started a monitoring programme focusing on state procurement. In October 2010, President Medvedev called for a cleanup of the state tender process, through which the state loses up to USD 33 billion each year, or one-tenth of federal spending, according to Freedom House 2011.

• Whistle-Blowing: According to Global Integrity 2010, whistle-blowing measures in Russia are 'very weak'. No law exists in Russia on the protection of whistleblowers. It was reported in 2006 that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg had received 28,000 complaints from Russia, most of them concerning corruption in the police and in the judicial system. In 2005, Russia earmarked USD 38 million for a witness protection programme. However, the programme as it runs now does not incorporate protection measures for whistleblowers reporting on corruption, but rather focuses on organised crime. The set of anti-corruption legislation passed in December 2008 requires public officials to report corruption, but a norm for whistle-blowing in relation to corruption was removed from the laws' text during the legislative process. However, in order to fully comply with its commitments to international anti-corruption conventions, Russia will have to develop legislation in this regard in the future.

• General Comments on the Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives: According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, there is nearly a complete lack of functioning integrity mechanisms in Russia. Moreover, rules to hold politicians or bureaucrats accountable are underdeveloped and not enforced in practice. Nonetheless, the vast amount of public councils, committees and advisory bodies, and legislation that deal with corruption indicate that corruption is considered by the Russian leadership to be a significant problem. Russia's ratification of the UNCAC and GRECO membership provide some hope for furthering the development a comprehensive Russian anti-corruption framework. Critics from Transparency International Russia have expressed doubts concerning whether President Medvedev's anti-corruption legislation will prove more successful than those of his predecessors, and the President has himself been critical of the results so far. However, the apparent increase in openness to independent domestic and international monitoring, as well as the approval of an Anti-Corruption Strategy by the President mark a positive shift in the Russian government's approach to tackling corruption.

• Media: In his annual report in February 2006, the Ombudsman emphasised that the main mass media in Russia are under a very strict control of state organs, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010. National and some regional television stations have been taken over by Kremlin-friendly organisations. This control is used to marginalise political opponents and to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda. This development has sparked demonstrations calling for increased press freedom. Newspapers are seen as a secondary target, but the pro-Putin Gazprom-Media acquisition of the renowned national daily Izvestia shows that the administration is also attempting to take control of the printed media. The Internet offers the best entrance to alternative viewpoints. Nineteen journalists have been killed in Russia since 2000, some of these possibly as a result of their investigation of corruption issues, and in no cases have the masterminds been prosecuted, according to Freedom House 2010. In June 2009, the editor of the Rostov-na-Donu Corruption and Crime newspaper Vyacheslav Yaroshenko died of a severe head injury, as reported by The Guardian. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an investigation, suggesting that Yaroshenko was targeted because he had written about corruption in the local law enforcement agencies, government office and the prosecutor's office. According to Global Integrity 2010, it is not uncommon for investigative journalists reporting on organised crime and corruption in Russia to be kidnapped or killed. For example, Russian investigative journalist Maksim Maksimov, who was a correspondent for the St. Petersburg weekly magazine Gorod and who had been probing a local police anti-corruption squad, went missing in 2004. Maksimov had alleged that instead of solving real crimes, the squad used an agent provocateur to set up phony cases, in order to extract bribes. Maksimov was believed to be killed in connection with his professional activity, however, by the end of 2010, no arrests or progress had been made in the case. Other, less violent measures are used to silence journalists as well. Journalists can be taken to court for insulting public officials or jailed for up to 3 years for 'extremist activities'. Such activities could include 'public slander towards figures fulfilling the state duties of the Russian Federation', or 'interfering with the legal duties of the organs of state authorities'. On these grounds, basically every journalist can be labelled an 'extremist' and could be prosecuted for their investigations. In addition, as reported by the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, critical journalists and media outlets are often the subject of administrative harassment by the state, in the form of extensive fines for libel or intensive investigations by state organs, such as the tax administration. Discussion on the internet is free, but government devotes extensive resources to analysing and manipulating the information available there, according to Freedom House 2010. Reporters Without Borders 2011 ranks Russia 140th out of 178 countries, while Freedom House 2011 ranks Russia 175th out of 196 countries and describes the country's media environment as 'not free'.

• Civil Society: According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, the civil society in Russia encounters strong barriers, including harassment by the state executive. Accordingly, NGOs are unevenly distributed across the country, flourishing mainly in the mega-cities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, and are often spontaneously organised and temporary. Moreover, many Russian NGOs owe their existence only to the engagement of international organisations. Registration regulations for registering NGOs passed in 2006 have further hampered civil society's efforts to influence political life in Russia, especially those NGOs that have foreign funding. The 2006 law places extensive controls on the use of these foreign funds, and in July 2008, Putin lifted the tax-exempt status of most Western foundations and NGOs, subjecting them to a 24% tax beginning in 2009, as reported by the Freedom House 2009. While curtailing foreign funding, the state has been increasing its own distribution of funding to civil society organisations, including a limited number of groups that have been critical of government policies. As pointed out by the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, civil society is too weak to have an impact on fighting corruption, and NGOs are systematically discouraged from engagement in corruption and public integrity issues. Nonetheless, several regional anti-corruption NGOs exist, among these the Samara Oblast Partnership Against Corruption, the Tomsk Oblast Anticorruption Coalition, the Irkutsk Oblast Partnership Against Corruption and the Primorye Anticorruption Coalition.

• Transparency International Russia (in Russian): Transparency International Russia addresses corruption issues and carries out programmes to counter corruption. The latest programme concerns political corruption and consists of monitoring the use of public resources in electoral campaigns in several Russian regions. Transparency International Russia launched an Internet portal to combat corruption in December 2008.

• Online Anti-Corruption Initiatives: In August 2008, Transparency International Russia launched the online anti-corruption helpdesk, Askjournal.ru (in Russian) with the assistance of the intellectual movement Lebed. This helpdesk was developed into an Advocacy and Legal Assistance Centre (ALAC) in the city of Vladimir, with the purpose of helping citizens overcome administrative barriers in Vladimir and build relationships with government bodies in a legal and transparent manner. This initiative was deemed a success, and as the number of citizen complaints increased, TI Russia and Lebed realised that the outreach needed to be expanded to also include media participation and wider public support to better address the complaints. They therefore created Vibor 33 (in Russian), an online resource with information about administrative barriers in the Vladimir region and where regional NGOs activities are posted. As of September 2011, Vibor 33 gets about 6000 unique visitors a day, mainly of journalists and citizens looking for unbiased information about the region as well as public officials who refer to the website’s content in their speeches. The website has reportedly helped to solve some major problems of the Vladimir region. And although not all of the problems have to do with corruption, they are always related to the city and regional economy, or to the use of budgetary funds or the regional administration and development, according to a November 2011 article in the TI blog, Space for Transparency. To visualise the problems and complaints, TI Russia and Vibor later developed a Map of Regional Problems in 2010. Citizens can post 'problems' on the map via e-mail, the website or a hotline and are then passed on the lawyers or other civic groups who then make the necessary inquiries to the authorities. From September 2010 to September 2011, citizens reportedly posted about 300 problems to the map and 150 of them were solved. Some requests led to the solution of more complex problems; for example the city administration was forced to carry out repairs in 40% of public grounds in residential areas which had not been done for the previous 20 years.

• International Business Leaders Forum Russia (IBLF Russia): IBLF Russia works to enable the responsible conduct of business with the aim of ensuring the stable and sustainable social and economic development of Russia. IBLF Russia runs programmes and training for SME support and responsible business practices within the organisation and related anti-corruption, capacity building and planning, measurement and reporting systems. IBLF Russia also provides advice on corporate social strategy development and joint ventures.

• INDEM Foundation (INDEM): INDEM is an NGO doing valuable research on anti-corruption and governance reform in Russia. INDEM has carried out several analyses of the structure of corruption in Russia.

• Centre for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR): CEFIR is an independent economic policy think tank that has carried out analysis of barriers to business development in Russia. Its research is highly relevant for SMEs.

• Russian SME Resource Centre (RCSME, Pесурсный центр малого предпринимательства): RCSME is a non-profit business organisation focusing on research and dissemination of information for the benefit of small companies. It is a valuable source on legal as well as illegal administrative barriers to doing business in Russia.

• OPORA RUSSIA (in Russian, SUPPORT RUSSIA): OPORA RUSSIA is a Russian business organisation of SMEs that addresses problems of barriers to small companies doing business in Russia, and publishes reports on the topic to provide useful information related to legal and illegal administrative barriers to doing business in Russia. OPORA RUSSIA, in cooperation with INDEM and others, has published very valuable guides for SMEs to avoid corruption in Russia.

• Public Anti-Corruption Committee (PACC, Общественный антикоррупционный комитет): The PACC is a civil society institute that aims at eradicating the causes of corruption and formation of anti-corruption public consciousness.

The websites listed below provide useful facts on Russia as well as contacts and tools for companies operating in Russia:

• International Finance Corporation: Global SME Toolkit
  Guide to sustainable business management practices for SMEs.
• Business Fighting Corruption
  An online resource centre for business on collective action to avoid corruption which contains a guide and resources for partnerships with companies and other stakeholders to fight against corruption.
• CIA World Factbook: Russia Profile
• The World Bank: Russia Data Profile

Sources for Further Reading:

• Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO): Compliance Report 2011.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2011.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• The Bertelsmann Foundation: Transformation Index - Russia 2010.
• CEFIR: Monitoring of the Administrative Barriers to Small Business Development in Russia 2007.

OECD Anti-Bribery Convention Status:

Invited to join the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions on 25 May 2011, which is a first step towards a signing of the Convention.

This field describes the country's status on the OECD Convention on Bribery of Foreign Officials in International Business Transactions. Please note any declarations and reservations made upon ratification. View the list of signatories to the OECD Convention (Note; Russia does not yet feature on the list). Read more about the OECD Convention.

UNCAC Status: Signed 9 December 2003. Ratified 9 May 2006.

Status on UNCAC Implementation
This field describes the country's status on the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Please note any declarations and reservations made upon ratification. The list of signatories can be found on the UNODC website. Read more about the UNCAC.

Other Relevant Conventions or Treaties:

• Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption. Signed 27 January 1999. Ratified 4 October 2006.
  Read Transparency International's summary and assessment of the convention.
• United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime: Signed 12 December 2000. Ratified 26 May 2004.
  Read Transparency International's summary and assessment of the convention.
• Member of the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) since 1 February 2007.
• Member of the OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Transparency CPI: 2011: 143/182 (Score: 2.4)

Transparency CPI
This field consists of the score for the country in question on the Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International as well as its ranking.

World Bank CORR Index (-2.5 - +2.5): 2010: -1.07

World Bank Corruption Index
This field consists of the score for the country in question on the 'Control of Corruption' indicator in the World Bank Governance Research Indicator Country Snapshot (GRICS): 1996-2010.

OECD Country Risk Classification (0-7): 2011: 3

Country Risk Classification
The classification of countries by risk category has the aim of providing OECD countries with a basis for calculating the premium interest rate to be charged to cover the risk of non-repayment of export credits. Countries are placed in risk categories 0 - 7, with 0 being the lowest risk category and thus the least expensive. Conversely, premium group 7 is the highest risk category. Each classification is comprised of 2 components: 1) an assessment of the country's economic/financial situation, and 2) its overall political stability. Access the complete list of OECD Country Risk Classification figures.

Data Verification:

Publication date: November 2011

Data verified by: Global Advice Network

general Information Sources

• The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012.
• World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2011.
• AFP: 'Medvedev backs Putin for president in 2012 election', 25 September 2011.
• Kyiv Post: 'Russian mayor killed after alleging corruption', 22 August 2011.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2011.
• The Wall Street Journal: 'Russia's Duma delays corruption bill vote', 21 March 2011.
• Коммерсантъ: 'Незаконному обогащению дали новый срок', 18 March 2011.
• Global Post: 'Vladimir Putin dogged by recent corruption scandals', 15 March 2011.
• Russia Today: 'United Russia to candidates: show the public your money', 9 March 2011.
• The Moscow Times: 'Friendly Oligarch Buys 'Putin' Palace', 4 March 2011.
• Bloomberg: 'Russia repels retailers as IKEA halt curtails Medvedev goal', 2 March 2011.
• The Moscow Times: 'More corruption controls - but bribes are getting bigger', 1 March 2011.
• The Moscow Times: 'Medvedev proposes fines of up to 100 times bribe size', 17 February 2011.
• Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO): Compliance Report 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2010.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'Bureaucrats Go to School to Learn Honesty', 25 October 2010.
• Bloomberg: 'Medvedev Bond Gain Shows Luzhkov Ouster No Yukos for Market: Russia Credit', 29 September 2010.
• RT TV: 'High-ranking official gets booted for hiding incomes', 29 September 2010.
• Global Finance Magazine: 'Russia's Corruption Generates Equivalent Of 50% GDP - Watchdog', 2 August 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'Cost of Bribe Nearly Doubles', 28 July 2010.
• RIA Novosti: 'Russia drags heels on fighting corruption - paper', 12 July 2010.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2010.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2010.
• RIA Novosti: 'Medvedev says may run in 2012 elections (Update 1)', 24 June 2010.
• The Wall Street Journal: 'Russia's Economic Czar Tackles Deficit, Bureaucracy', 23 June 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'Kremlin Seeks to Ban Gifts for Bureaucrats', 24 May 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'Medvedev Redefines Anti-Corruption Drive', 15 April 2010.
• AMT Consulting Group: 'Борьба с коррупцией в России переходит на международные стандарты', 9 April 2010.
• The Bertelsmann Foundation: Transformation Index - Russia 2010.
• BRIBEline: Russia Report 2009.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2009.
• The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Report 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2009.
• Gallup: Perceptions of Government Corruption High in Russia 2009.
• Legal500: Russia Adopts New Anti-Corruption Legislation 2009.
• Moskovski Komsomolets: 'Коррупцию в России узаконили', 17 December 2009.
• RIA Novosti: 'Russia pretends to fight corruption', 18 November 2009.
• Utro: 'Чиновникам осталось пять лет', 17 October 2009.
• RIA Novosti: 'СКП в етом году возбудил вдвое больше дел о коррупции, чем в прошлом', 16 October 2009.
• Visual RIA Novosti: 'Verdict on the corruption case in the Audit Chamber', 31 August 2009.
• Voice of America News: 'Analysts: Russia's Entrenched Corruption Defies Solutions', 6 August 2009.
• Reuters: 'CEOs use Obama visit to press Russia on rule of law', 3 July 2009.
• The Moscow Times: 'State Firm Heads Told To Declare Incomes', 19 May 2009.
• The Washington Times: 'Editorial: Rampant corruption in Russia', 26 March 2009.
• Reuters: 'Russia prosecutor accuses FinMin officials of theft', 12 February 2009.
• EBRD & World Bank: Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) 2008.
• State Duma: 'Госдума приняла в третьем чтении законопроекты, направленные на ликвидацию административных ограничений при осуществлении предпринимательской деятельности', 19 December 2008.
• Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO): Joint First and Second Evaluation Rounds: Evaluation Report on the Russian Federation 2008.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2008.
• Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2008.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• CDI Johnson's Russia List: Researchers Study the 'Nature and Structure' of Russian Corruption 2008.
• Lexadin: The World Law Guide - Legislation Russia 2008.
• Los Angeles Times: 'Russian leader signs law extending presidential terms', 31 December 2008.
• RIA Novosti: 'Russian Duma approves anti-corruption bill in third reading', 29 December 2008.
• Bloomberg: 'Oligarchs Seek $78 Billion as Credit Woes Help Putin', 22 December 2008.
• The Economist: 'Grease my palm: Bribery and corruption have become endemic', 27 November 2008.
• Firebird Management LLC: 'New reports underscore doubts about Medvedev's anti-corruption plan', 14 September 2008.
• Forbes: 'Russia's $120 Billion Elephant: Corruption', 6 June 2008.
• RIA Novosti: 'Medvedev to head Russian anti-corruption council', 19 May 2008.
• Reuters: 'Russia's Medvedev unveils anti-corruption steps', 27 March 2008.
• Insidertailing.com: 'Red tape and corruption hamper Russia's retail', 26 March 2008.
• Newsweek: 'Rite of Passage', 21 February 2008.
• Jamestown Foundation: 'Researchers study the 'Nature and Structure' of Russian Corruption', 11 February 2008.
• CEFIR: Monitoring of the Administrative Barriers to Small Business Development in Russia 2007.
• INDEM & OPORA: Business Without Corruption: An Action Guide 2007.
• EBRD & World Bank: Life in Transition Survey - Russia 2007.
• Russian Business Monitor: Opinion Poll Results: 'Bribes Can Be the Best Way to Solve Problems', 12 October 2007.
• RFE & RL: 'Russia: Political Environment Dooms Bid to Fight Corruption', 21 September 2007.
• Moscow Times: 'State Aims to Rout Corrupt Officials', 5 March 2007.
• RussiaProfile.org: 'Anti-Corruption Drive Takes Off', 4 March 2007.
• INDEM Foundation: БИЗНЕС И КОРРУПЦИЯ: ПРОБЛЕМЫ ПРОТИВОДЕЙСТВИЯ 2006 (in Russian).
• The World Bank: Policy Note: Administrative and Regulatory Reform in Russia - Addressing Potential Sources of Corruption 2006.
• OECD: Investment Policy Reviews - Russian Federation - Enhancing Policy Transparency 2006 (in Russian).
• INDEM Foundation: Diagnostics of Russian Corruption 2005.
• OPORA Russia: Innovative Small and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurship: Challenges of Development 2005.
• CEFIR: Entrepreneurship and Barriers to Entry 2005.
• INDEM Foundation: Business and Corruption: How To Combat Business Participation In Corruption 2004.
• Public Opinion Foundation.

Corruption Levels Sources

Judicial System

• The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012.
• World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2011.
• The Economist: 'The Khodorkovsky case: Another verdict', 16 February 2011.
• Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO): Compliance Report 2011.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2010.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2010.
• RIA Novosti: 'Russia drags heels on fighting corruption - paper', 12 July 2010.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2010.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2010.
• The Bertelsmann Foundation: Transformation Index - Russia 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2009.
• The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Report 2009.
• Council of Europe: Allegations of Politically-motivated Abuses of the Criminal Justice System in Council of Europe Member States 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2009.
• The Washington Post: 'Corruption Taints Courts In Russia, Report Says', 24 June 2009.
• ABC News: 'Khodorkovsky: Court Reform Crucial for Russia', 15 June 2009.
• The Washington Times: 'Editorial: Rampant corruption in Russia', 26 March 2009.
• BBC News: 'Russia judge resigns over 'bribe'', 17 February 2009.
• EBRD & World Bank: Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) 2008.
• Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO): Joint First and Second Evaluation Rounds: Evaluation Report on the Russian Federation 2008.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• Firebird Management LLC: 'New reports underscore doubts about Medvedev's anti-corruption plan', 14 September 2008.
• EBRD & World Bank: Life in Transition Survey - Russia 2007.
• INDEM Foundation: Diagnostics of Russian Corruption 2005.

Police

• World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2011.
• Bloomberg: 'Medvedev orders online disclosures by Russian secret services', 10 August 2011.
• Ria Novosti: 'Russia to reopen Magnitsky investigation - paper', 2 August 2011.
• INO-TV: 'Закон о полиции не прошел тест на коррупцию', 7 July 2011.
• TrustLaw: 'President: Russia police must reform, fight terrorism', 7 February 2011.
• Reuters: 'Russia anti-graft chief busted for extorting $46 mln', 22 January 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2010.
• The Moscow News: 'Paying traffic fines - the easy way', 21 June 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'Corrupt Police Officers Face Tougher Penalties', 19 April 2010.
• The Other Russia: 'Dymovsky Released from Detention Center', 8 March 2010.
• Agence France-Presse: 'Medvedev orders crackdown on Russian police corruption', 18 February 2010.
• BBC News: 'Russia's 'YouTube policeman' held', 22 January 2010.
• BRIBEline: Russia Report 2009.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2009.
• The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Report 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2009.
• Reuters: 'Russia to prosecute YouTube police whistleblower', 28 December 2009.
• The New York Times: 'Russia to Crack Down on Police Corruption', 25 December 2009.
• RIA Novosti: 'Medvedev moves to streamline Interior Ministry, fight corruption', 24 December 2009.
• State Duma: 'Госдума приняла в третьем чтении законопроекты, направленные на ликвидацию административных ограничений при осуществлении предпринимательской деятельности', 19 December 2008.
• The Wall Street Journal: 'Medvedev Removes a Top Police Official', 16 December 2009.
• Telegraph: 'Corruption probe that became fatal game of Russian roulette for Bill Browder', 30 November 2009.
• The New York Times: 'Russia Admits Lapses in Case of Sick Lawyer', 27 November 2009.
• The New York Times: 'Russia to Investigate Fund Lawyer’s Death', 25 November 2009.
• Telegraph: 'Russia refuses autopsy for anti-corruption lawyer', 19 November 2009.
• Prime-Tass: 'Russia's Medvedev reiterates call for rooting out corruption', 12 November 2009.
• CBS News: 'Whistleblower Tackles Russian Police Corruption', 10 November 2009.
• RIA Novosti: 'All Russian police to declare incomes from 2010', 25 September 2009.
• Voice of America News: 'Analysts: Russia's Entrenched Corruption Defies Solutions', 6 August 2009.
• CBS News: 'Fighting Corruption, Russian Style: CBS News Reports: Police Captain Gets Fired and Sued after Exposing Rampant Bribery by Cadets', 22 July 2009.
• Russia Today: 'Police tops Russia's corruption chart', 28 January 2009.
• Jurist: 'Russian corruption cases on the increase: Prosecutor', 12 January 2009.
• The Other Russia: 'Trying to Control Russia's Traffic Cops', 19 May 2008.
• Reuters: 'Russia's Medvedev unveils anti-corruption steps', 27 March 2008.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• CEFIR: Monitoring of the Administrative Barriers to Small Business Development in Russia 2007.
• EBRD & World Bank: Life in Transition Survey - Russia 2007.
• The World Bank: Policy Note: Administrative and Regulatory Reform in Russia - Addressing Potential Sources of Corruption 2006.
• CEFIR: Entrepreneurship and Barriers to Entry 2005.
• INDEM Foundation: Diagnostics of Russian Corruption 2005.
• INDEM Foundation: Business and Corruption: How To Combat Business Participation In Corruption 2004.

Licences, Infrastructure and Public Utilities

• The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012.
• World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012.
• The New York Times: 'Russian Site Smokes Out Corruption', 27 March 2011.
• Bloomberg: 'Russia repels retailers as IKEA halt curtails Medvedev goal', 2 March 2011.
• The Moscow Times: 'Fighter jets sold for USD 5 in fraud scheme', 28 February 2011.
• Guardian: 'Russia's chief whistleblower wants to jail the corrupt', 23 February 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2010.
• RT TV: 'High-ranking official gets booted for hiding incomes', 29 September 2010.
• Business Week: 'Russia Busts Crime Ring That Laundered $1.6 Billion (Update 1)', 1 March 2010.
• The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• RIA Novosti: 'Russian health insurance official gets 7 years for corruption', 12 August 2009.
• The New York Times: 'Ikea Plans to Halt Investment in Russia', 24 June 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2008.
• EBRD & World Bank: Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) 2008.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• The Bertelsmann Foundation: Transformation Index - Russia 2008.
• Reuters: 'Russia's Medvedev unveils anti-corruption steps', 27 March 2008.
• CEFIR: Monitoring of the Administrative Barriers to Small Business Development in Russia 2007.
• The World Bank: Administrative and Regulatory Reform in Russia - Addressing Potential Sources of Corruption - 2006.
• Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE): Strengthening Local Democracy in Russia: The Case for Business Associations 2006.
• OECD: Investment Policy Reviews - Russian Federation - Enhancing Policy Transparency 2006 (in Russian).
• INDEM Foundation: Diagnostics of Russian Corruption 2005.
• CEFIR: Monitoring the Administrative Barriers to Small Business Development 2005.

Land Administration

• The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012.
• World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2011.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2010.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2010.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2010.
• The Bertelsmann Foundation: Transformation Index - Russia 2010.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Report 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• CEFIR: Monitoring of the Administrative Barriers to Small Business Development in Russia 2007.
• OECD: Investment Policy Reviews - Russian Federation - Enhancing Policy Transparency 2006 (in Russian).
• INDEM Foundation: Diagnostics of Russian Corruption 2005.
• INDEM Foundation: Business and Corruption: How To Combat Business Participation In Corruption 2004.

Tax Administration

• The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012.
• World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010.
• Business Week: 'Firestone Flees Moscow ‘Mafia’ Police as Browder Affair Widens', 17 February 2010.
• The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• Reuters: 'CEOs use Obama visit to press Russia on rule of law', 3 July 2009.
• Reuters: 'CEO presses Kremlin chief on red-tape nightmare', 6 June 2009.
• EBRD & World Bank: Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) 2008.
• CDI Johnson's Russia List: Researchers Study the 'Nature and Structure' of Russian Corruption 2008.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• Swedish Trade Council: Landrapporter - Ryssland 2008 (in Swedish).
• INDEM & OPORA: Business Without Corruption: An Action Guide 2007.
• The World Bank: Administrative and Regulatory Reform in Russia - Addressing Potential Sources of Corruption 2006.
• OECD: Investment Policy Reviews - Russian Federation - Enhancing Policy Transparency 2006 (in Russian).
• CEFIR: Monitoring the Administrative Barriers to Small Business Development 2005.
• INDEM Foundation: Diagnostics of Russian Corruption 2005.

Customs Administration

• The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• World Economic Forum: Global Enabling Trade Report 2010.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010.
• The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• EBRD & World Bank: Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) 2008.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• OECD: Investment Policy Reviews - Russian Federation - Enhancing Policy Transparency 2006 (in Russian).
• INDEM Foundation: Diagnostics of Russian Corruption 2005.

Public Procurement and Contracting

• World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'World Cup Gives Russia an Anti-Graft Goal', 6 December 2010.
• Bloomberg: 'Medvedev Bond Gain Shows Luzhkov Ouster No Yukos for Market: Russia Credit', 29 September 2010.
• RIA Novosti: 'Russia looks into Daimler corruption claims', 23 April 2010.
• Reuters: 'Russia looks into Daimler corruption charges - media', 23 April 2010.
• BBC News: 'Firms pledge no bibes in Russia', 21 April 2010.
• RIA Novosti: 'Hewlett-Packard offices in Moscow raided in bribery probe', 15 April 2010.
• The New York Times: 'Ikea Fires 2 Officials in Russia Bribe Case', 16 February 2010.
• The Bertelsmann Foundation: Transformation Index - Russia 2010.
• The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• Moskovski Komsomolets: 'Коррупцию в России узаконили', 17 December 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• EBRD & World Bank: Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) 2008.
• The Washington Post: 'U.N. Cites $20 Million in Fraud', 21 October 2008.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• The World Bank: Policy Note: Administrative and Regulatory Reform in Russia - Addressing Potential Sources of Corruption 2006.
• OECD: Investment Policy Reviews - Russian Federation - Enhancing Policy Transparency 2006 (in Russian).

Environment, Natural Resources and Extractive Industry

• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2010.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2010.
• The Bertelsmann Foundation: Transformation Index - Russia 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• Reuters: 'Russia's Medvedev sees no graft campaign success', 12 May 2009.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• Transparency International: Corruption & the Environment 2006.
• OECD: Investment Policy Reviews - Russian Federation - Enhancing Policy Transparency 2006 (in Russian).

Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives Sources

• The Moscow Times: 'Russia Signs OECD Anti-Bribery Convention', 26 May 2011.
• The Wall Street Journal: 'Russia's Duma delays corruption bill vote', 21 March 2011.
• Коммерсантъ: 'Незаконному обогащению дали новый срок', 18 March 2011.
• Russia Today: 'United Russia to candidates: show the public your money', 9 March 2011.
• The Moscow Times: 'More corruption controls - but bribes are getting bigger', 1 March 2011.
• The Moscow Times: 'Medvedev proposes fines of up to 100 times bribe size', 17 February 2011.
• Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO): Compliance Report 2011.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2010.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'Bureaucrats Go to School to Learn Honesty', 25 October 2010.
• RT TV: 'High-ranking official gets booted for hiding incomes', 29 September 2010.
• Government's Official Website: 'Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting in Volgograd on reducing administrative barriers in construction', 15 July 2010.
• RIA Novosti: 'Russia drags heels on fighting corruption - paper', 12 July 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'Kremlin Seeks to Ban Gifts for Bureaucrats', 24 May 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'Corrupt Police Officers Face Tougher Penalties', 19 April 2010.
• The Moscow Times: 'Medvedev Redefines Anti-Corruption Drive', 15 April 2010.
• AMT Consulting Group: 'Борьба с коррупцией в России переходит на международные стандарты', 9 April 2010.
• Business Week: 'Russia Busts Crime Ring That Laundered $1.6 Billion (Update 1)', 1 March 2010.
• The Bertelsmann Foundation: Transformation Index - Russia 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Report 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2009.
• Legal500: Russia Adopts New Anti-Corruption Legislation 2009.
• Russian Law Online: Encyclopedia of Russian Law 2009.
• US Department of State: Investment Climate Statement - Russia 2009.
• Moskovski Komsomolets: 'Коррупцию в России узаконили', 17 December 2009.
• Alinga Consulting Group: 'Russian Govt To Name 60 Public Services To Be Provided In Electronic Form', 26 August 2009.
• Voice of America News: 'Analysts: Russia's Entrenched Corruption Defies Solutions', 6 August 2009.
• The Washington Post: 'Corruption Taints Courts In Russia, Report Says', 24 June 2009.
• The Moscow Times: 'State Firm Heads Told To Declare Incomes', 19 May 2009.
• The Washington Times: 'Editorial: Rampant corruption in Russia', 26 March 2009.
• Reuters: 'Russian president targets graft with new rules', 10 March 2009.
• Public Anti-Corruption Committee: 'Закон «О противодействии коррупции» принят в Челябинской области', 3 February 2009.
• Russia Today: 'Police tops Russia's corruption chart', 28 January 2009.
• Council of Europe Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO): Joint First and Second Evaluation Rounds: Evaluation Report on the Russian Federation 2008.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• Swedish Trade Council: Landrapporter - Ryssland 2008 (in Swedish).
• Lexadin: The World Law Guide - Legislation Russia 2008.
• Russia Today: 'Corruption: time to take gloves off', 29 October 2008.
• Ministry of the Interior of Russian Federation: 'Rashid Nurgaliev: there shall be no untouchable corruption officials', 14 October 2008.
• Johnson's Russia List: 'Independent Analyst Sceptical about Medvedev's Anti-Corruption Plan', 30 September 2008.
• RIA News: 'Medvedev to head Russian anti-corruption council', 19 May 2008.
• Moscow Times: 'Prosecution Reform Clears First Hurdle', 26 March 2007.
• infoDev e-Government: The e-Government Policy, Law and Regulation Survey Project - Russia 2006.
• OECD: Investment Policy Reviews - Russian Federation - Enhancing Policy Transparency 2006 (in Russian).
• Institute of the Information Society: e-Russia and e-Moscow Programs 2005.

Private Anti-Corruption Initiatives Sources

• Space for Transparency: 'In Russia, the fight against corruption goes online', 22 November 2011
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2011.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2010.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2010.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2010.
• The Bertelsmann Foundation: Transformation Index - Russia 2010.
• Reporters Without Borders: Russia Country Report 2010.
• US Department of State: Human Rights Report - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Freedom of the Press Index 2009.
• Freedom House: Nations in Transit - Russia 2009.
• Freedom House: Freedom in the World - Russia 2009.
• Transparency International: Global Corruption Report 2009.
• Reporters Without Borders: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2009.
• RIA Novosti: 'Russia pretends to fight corruption', 18 November 2009.
• Voice of America News: 'Analysts: Russia's Entrenched Corruption Defies Solutions', 6 August 2009.
• Guardian: 'Russian Corruption Reporter Dies From Head Injury', 30 June 2009.
• The Daily Telegraph: 'Human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasiya Barburova shot dead in Moscow', 20 January 2009.
• Technaute: 'A site for the fight against corruption in Russia', 7 January 2009.
• Global Integrity: Russia Country Report 2008.
• INDEM & OPORA: Business Without Corruption: An Action Guide 2007.
• The Moscow Times: 'Russian Election Observers Sidelined', 29 November 2007.