Medvedev Unveils Anticorruption Plan

The president signed a decree on the drafting of an anticorruption plan on May 19, and chief of the presidential executive staff and chairman of the interagency committee to combat corruption Sergey Naryshkin submitted his anticorruption proposals on June 25. The president said yesterday that the plan would consist of three parts. The first, legislative, would define corruption, define the relationship between anticorruption law and criminal law and suggest preventative measures. In addition to preventative measures, there may be incentive measures as well. Legal immunity, which is now held by the president, members of the State Duma and Federation Council and judges, will be restricted.

The second part of the plan is improvement of state management, with new rules for corruption-ridden areas, such as use of state and municipal property and state purchasing. It also entails the withdrawal of officials from the boards of directors of state corporations and new rules on conflict of interest. The use of electronic communication between officials and the public will be increased as well. The third part of the plan is public education in the media and by noncommercial organizations, which will receive grants for that purpose.

The president acknowledged that his plan is incomplete and asked the legislators to contribute to it. He agreed with head of the State Council of Komi Marina Istikhovskaya, who noted that, if law enforcement supervises the fight against corruption, "it [corruption] will never disappear." "That doesn't mean we shouldn't fight it," the president reasoned.

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