Russian president unveils anti-corruption plan

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- President Dmitry Medvedev outlined an ambitious plan Wednesday to combat corruption, which he said has become a "way of life" in Russia.

Medvedev said the plan includes tougher criminal punishment for corrupt officials, more rigid requirements for civil servants and judges and more opportunity for the public to monitor officials. He said the new legislation must be in place by next year.

Combating graft should be a "matter of honor" for the government, he said.

"Corruption in our country has become a way of life for a huge number of people," Medvedev said at a meeting with federal and regional lawmakers. "It has become a norm."

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has put Russia near the top of its global corruption perception index, ranking it on a par with Togo, Indonesia and Gambia.

A Russian prosecutor said last month that government officials' income from corruption amounts to the equivalent of about one-third of the national budget.

Experts say the scale of official corruption increased under former President Vladimir Putin, who sought to increase state control over the economy during his eight-year tenure and rolled back on post-Soviet freedoms.

Medvedev has vowed to uphold human rights and protect people and businesses from official corruption and abuse of the justice system -- pledges that have raised expectations of liberal changes. But the 42-year-old former lawyer has also said he will continue the policies of Putin, who has retained clout as Russia's prime minister.

Bribery is rampant in Russia, where traffic police solicit bribes by citing drivers for fabricated offenses, parents slip extra rubles to teachers in exchange for better grades and hospital patients grease the palms of doctors for better care.

"Those who take bribes ... feel it involves no risks or consider such risks as negligible," Medvedev said. "It mustn't be so."

Russian entrepreneurs face endless checks by police and tax authorities, sanitary inspectors, fire brigades and numerous other officials. The excessive scrutiny creates a breeding ground for corruption.

Medvedev said the anti-corruption plan must include transferring some federal powers to the regions, and from the state to private hands. He did not elaborate, saying only that fighting graft would require the public to have a measure of control over civil servants.

The anti-corruption measures also envision replacing government officials on the boards of state-controlled companies with independent executives, Medvedev said.

Medvedev said that having one official as chairman of a board would be enough to protect state interests. "Others are simply involved in lobbyism or feeding off it," he said.

Medvedev's economic adviser, Arkady Dvorkovich, said Wednesday that independent executives will be named to some of the state-run companies in the next few days, Russian news reports said.

Medvedev also said the Internet could be used more to help people communicate with officials, which also could help reduce corruption. "It's much more difficult to extort bribes on the Internet," he said.

In a remarkably blunt statement, Medvedev said that some people tried to discourage him from launching the anti-corruption plan, saying it will yield no results.

"Different people told me: 'why are you doing that, it will lead you nowhere,"' Medvedev said without giving any names. "Yes, it's a very difficult problem, but doing nothing at all will be even worse. Dealing with that is a matter of honor for the government."

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All About Russia • Dmitry Medvedev • Vladimir Putin