Putin's Corruption Trap
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16 April 2013
The fight against corruption is a perpetual topic in Russia: it has been discussed for centuries, but almost no one believes that the situation can ever be improved. For the last five years, however, the Russian government seems to have become more involved in the problem. Since last fall, a number of big corruption scandals have broken. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya considers whether the fight against corruption is the government's real objective or just another instrument to solve the Kremlin's political problems.
The numbers that experts use to describe the extent of corruption in Russia are definitely not for the faint-hearted. National Anti-Corruption Committee Chairman Kirill Kabanov has recently estimated the corruption market in Russia at around $300 billion a year, which is considerably more than the $300 to 500 million that the illicit drug market launders annually. According to Kabanov, "typical bribes—that is, low-level corruption—that we hear about in criminal cases and which amount to 80 percent, I think, in our country, do not form this market." He further explains, "First of all, this market is formed due to the distribution of the budget in terms of corruption, state property, and natural resources management. These are the main sectors of the corruption market." Alexander Savenkov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council's committee on constitutional legislation, said that, according to Interior Ministry statistics, the average level of a bribe in Russia in 2011–2012 amounted to 300,000 rubles ($10,000). The Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights estimates that corruption consumes as much as 50 percent of Russia’s GDP. Top areas for corruption are law-enforcement agencies and the judicial system. These data were included in a 2010 report prepared by Clean Hands, a Russian anticorruption center. Transparency International has ranked Russia 133rd (out of 174 countries) in its 2012 Corruption Perception Index. According to the 2011 "Bribers" Index by Transparency International, out of 28 countries included in the study, Russia had the most corrupt companies when dealing with foreign operations.
Corruption is without doubt the most topical question in Russia, which is destructive for state efficiency, the government's reputation, budget stability, rates of economic growth, competition, and so on. A rapid growth in corruption was noted in 2000, when Vladimir Putin became president. Yet he wants to be seen as the main fighter against corruption. What is really going on?
Having become president, Putin got caught in his own political trap. During his first term (until 2004), he meticulously built the "vertical of power" by replacing Yeltsin's people with his own supporters from St. Petersburg, squeezing out oligarchs, and taking control of state decision-making mechanisms. Personal loyalty played a key role in personnel appointments, with corruption considered an insignificant side effect. Putin's logic was simple: he aimed to gain the maximum control possible over the government in order to make a "breakthrough." He thought that mobilization based on corporatism was needed to "raise the country from its knees."
A rapid growth in corruption was noted in 2000, when Vladimir Putin became president.
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