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: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Russia PM urges greater anti-corruption efforts in wake of nightclub fire

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

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[JURIST] Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday that last week's nightclub fire in Perm exposed widespread corruption among bureaucrats. At a cabinet meeting, Putin said that documents were falsified and officials were bribed to look the other way on safety violations. Putin said, "his obviously reflects all the vices of our bureaucracy: its incompetence, its corruptness, its merger with business in areas where it is not needed, where it should not be allowed." Putin called for greater oversight of officials in order to end corruption. Putin's statement echoes similar remarks by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in which he called for stricter punishment for those who violate fire safety laws. Another victim died Friday, bringing the death toll to 142, with 88 remaining hospitalized. Perm's regional administration resigned Wednesday. Last month, Transparency International (TI) ranked Russia 146th out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). In January, First Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Buksman reported that corruption cases are increasing in Russia and now account for about 1.5 percent of recorded crimes there. Last December, Medvedev signed anti-corruption legislation imposing income reporting requirements on public officials and restricting gifts. Medvedev had urged anti-corruption measures since taking office in May 2008. In June 2008, rights group Freedom House released a report finding that corruption and repression were increasingly threatening legal rights in former Soviet republics like Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, with Russia's court system in particular showing significant deterioration of the rule of law.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 11, 2009 (boomark / email).