![Ratifiers of the UN anti corruption treaty](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Ratifiers_of_the_UN_anti_corruption_treaty.png/300px-Ratifiers_of_the_UN_anti_corruption_treaty.png" "Ratifiers of the UN anti corruption treaty")
- Ratifiers of the UN anti corruption treaty…
![Ratifiers of the UN anti corruption treaty](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Ratifiers_of_the_UN_anti_corruption_treaty.png/300px-Ratifiers_of_the_UN_anti_corruption_treaty.png" "Ratifiers of the UN anti corruption treaty")
Russian officials involved in the country’s new anti-corruption units will undergo special training courses to learn how to prevent bribery Russian business daily Vedomosti said on Wednesday.
Some 500 officials will attend the 36-hour program at the Russian Academy of Public Administration (RAPA).
RAPA’s first deputy director Mikhail Mizulin said the main purpose of the course is to teach the officials how to prevent corruption rather than punishing existing bribers.
The officials will undergo psychological training and learn how to interact more with the police in the fight against corruption.
The work of the anti-corruption units, which will come into force this year, will involve checking income declarations and ensuring that officials follow the rules and report to senior management about bribery attempts.
Shortly after coming to office in 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declared corruption the number one threat to modern Russian society and vowed to significantly tighten anti-corruption laws.
Medvedev signed in April a bill on the creation of a national anti-corruption program for 2010-2011 aimed at eliminating corruption, including among top officials.
The Berlin-based non-governmental anti-corruption organization Transparency International has persistently rated Russia one of the most corrupt nations in the world. In the 2009 Corruption Perception Index, Russia was ranked 146th of 180, below countries like Togo, Pakistan and Libya. The United States was ranked 19th.
A total of 4,500 corruption cases were brought to court in the first half of 2009 in Russia, with 532 public officials and 700 law enforcers convicted.
Windows to Russia!
- Bribery and Corruption in Russia… (windowstorussia.com)
- Yup Says Russia – Medvedev is Back… (windowstorussia.com)
- The FSB Has More Power Now and Other Thoughts… (windowstorussia.com)
- Dmitry Medvedev admits Russia has made no progress in fighting corruption (telegraph.co.uk)
- Russia orders research in corruption, as average bribe cost doubles (rt.com)
- Russia Slow to Pick Up the Lead in Bribery Cases (nytimes.com)
- ROAR: Bribe takers try “to compensate risk” (rt.com)