Eurasia Press & News
Medvedev will be the first Russian president to make his full property declaration public.
President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday promised to fully declare his family’s income and property holdings as part of his latest anti-corruption drive, a Kremlin spokeswoman said.
Medvedev, who made fighting graft a campaign pledge when running for election last year, will be the first Russian president to make his full property declaration public.
Senior officials in his administration will also be obliged to report their families’ property by an April 1 deadline.
“Declarations of the president and his wife will be posted on the Kremlin website,” spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said. “The declarations of some top officials may also be made public.”
Corruption is deeply embedded in Russian society and successive leaders have tried, unsuccessfully, to stamp it out. In its 2008 index ranking countries from the cleanest to the most corrupt, Transparency International placed Russia equal 147th, alongside Kenya, Syria and Bangladesh.
Legislation proposed by Medvedev and passed in December bars officials from accepting gifts worth more than 3,000 roubles ($90) and force bureaucrats to inform state bodies if they plan to join commercial firms in which they may have vested interests.
Last year Medvedev complained that official jobs were often simply put up for sale to the highest bidder.
