Russians tend to call corruption indestructible – poll

(Interfax – November 18, 2014) Over a third of Russians believe it is impossible to eradicate corruption in their home country, Levada Center told Interfax.

Some 43 percent of 1,630 respondents polled in 134 populated localities said corruption was worst in the traffic police, 39 percent said this about the police in general and 35 percent pointed the finger at the customs service.

A third of respondents (33 percent) blamed regional and local officials for corrupt practices, and 31 percent said corruption was characteristic of deputies of regional and local councils and State Duma deputies. Twenty-nine percent suspect governors and judges of being unscrupulous, and 26 percent said this about employees of federal departments and ministries and rectors of higher education establishments.

Thirty-nine percent are certain that the scope of corruption and abuse of office has expanded in high places over the past 15 years; 20 percent claimed an improvement, 33 percent said there had been no change and 8 percent were undecided.

In the opinion of 45 percent of the respondents, bribery is the main form of corruption in Russia. Thirty-three percent pointed to behind-the-scenes influence and 31 percent to nepotism.

Twenty-nine percent mentioned machinations with public assets amongst widely spread phenomena, and 27 percent said that misuse and embezzlement of public assets were rather common.

Machinations in public procurement were mentioned by 23 percent, bribery of civil servants by 22 percent and tax evasion was named by 21 percent. Twenty percent said “a bloated staff or budget of administrative bodies” was a frequent form of corruption and the same number spoke about extortion by civil servants.

More than a third (38 percent) thinks that the Russian authorities will continue their crackdown on corruption but will have little success because “corruption is indestructible”. About a quarter (26 percent) believe the crackdown could be successful if there were “a purge of the senior bureaucratic ranks” and stricter punishment for corrupt practices. Nineteen percent argued it was hard for the leaders to fight corruption “because of their large dependence on the corrupt officials.”