2008 Assessment

This peer-reviewed country report includes:

Integrity Indicators Scorecard: Scores, scoring criteria, commentary, references, and peer review perspectives for more than 300 Integrity Indicators.

Reporter's Notebook: An on-the-ground look at corruption and integrity from a leading local journalist.

Corruption Timeline: Ten years of political context to today's corruption and integrity issues.

Country Facts: Statistical context for each country.

Russia continues to face challenges in accountability across branches of government, which, in addition to an almost non-existent whistle-blowing culture, serves to increase the power and influence of the ruling political party. While government claims to support a more robust civil society, distinctions are made between domestically and internationally funded non-profit groups. Freedom of the media remains severely restricted in Russia, with the government applying direct pressure on media owners and intimidating journalists. However, Russian public opinion does not rest entirely with the free press movement. Citizens' "paradoxical" relationship with the government and its uneasiness with full democratic change can be seen in a poll noting how "two thirds of Russians are enthusiastic supporters of society's democratic development, but they are not so sure about freedom of the press." There is also a popular mistrust of the judicial system, where all appointments to judicial posts in the last five years have been granted to former members of law enforcement rather than lawyers.