Corruption in Russia
Despite the election of the new President in 2000 corruption still remains a significant problem in Russia and it is widely reported that the country incurs annual losses estimated between sixteen and thirty three billion dollars due to corruption. According to polls undertaken by several think tanks, low level corruption is still prevalent with the most corrupt sectors being law enforcement, housing and communal services. Evidence further suggests that the leaders with regards to political corruption are those institutions directly responsible for making important state decisions — the Russian government and parliament.
Aims of Organization
We aim to provide up to date information, including best practice, research and legislation on corruption and anti corruption issues and raise awareness about the phenomena of corruption in Russia and in the region
It is also important to note that the Russian judiciary at all levels has become more affected by corruption and in fact the spreading of corruption “down” to the local administration level is recognized as one of the distinctive trends of recent years. To a certain extent the establishment of the office of the Presidential Envoy in the federal districts has contributed to it. Administrative supervisory methods tend to dominate in the area of anti corruption in Russia which only serves to drive the problem in deeper.
The ACRC in Russia is:
- A vehicle to raise public awareness, launch campaigns, disseminate know how and tools
- A meeting place for workshops and roundtables
- A good way to establish stable and solid relationships with other anti-corruption players including schools, colleges, NGOs of all kinds, think tanks and various media groups
- An instrument to build a sustainable anti-corruption network
Lack of the information is one of the key reasons for the state of corruption in Russia. It is hoped that by establishing the resource centre, all those with an interest in anti corruption will have a central point to access information, which in the long term will impact upon targeting corruption in the region.
Services The ACRC is open to representatives of NGOs, students, researchers, journalists, public officials and others engaged in researching corruption related issues and offers the following services:
- Library and media archive
- Support to users
- Access to Internet and TI's online anti corruption database, CORIS
- An email request service and a copying service
