Russia makes progress in anti-corruption struggle

01.12, 21:55

For the first time since 2004, Russia has improved its position in Transparency International's annual corruption index.

22.07, 19:11

Despite the authorities’ wide anti-corruption measures, the cost of a bribe in Russia has risen this year to 293,000 rubles ($10,000).

16.02, 17:21

Adding teeth to his anti-corruption campaign, President Dmitry Medvedev is looking to substantially increase the penalty for individuals found guilty of corruption.

10.11.2009, 18:29

The Coat of Arms of Moscow depicts St. George astride a horse slaying a dragon, which today could be interpreted as the monster of corruption breathing down Russia’s neck at every turn.

Published: 09 December, 2011, 22:33

Police arrest bribe-taker (RIA Novosti / Maksim Bogodvid)

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TAGS: Russia, Law, Prime Time Russia, Corruption, Darya Pushkova, Anya Fedorova, Neil Harvey

As the world celebrates International Anti-Corruption Day, Russian law enforcement officials report the results of their fight against bribery.

More than 1,000 corruption cases are opened in Russia every month, said Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee.

“More than 10,000 corruption cases were launched in 2008, and over 11,000 cases were opened over the first nine months of 2011," Markin said.

In addition, investigators have handled more than 200 criminal cases into illegal company takeovers over the last two years.

But with International Anti-Corruption Day, come accusations that a former Russian anti-corruption officer extorted a $30,000 bribe. He allegedly demanded the sum from a businessman, threatening to initiate a criminal case on made-up charges.

This comes a week after Transparency International drew its annual Corruption Index, in which Russia has improved its position – for the first time since 2004.

The country scored 2.4 points, upgrading its position to 143rd place from 154th place in 2001 (among 183 countries).

The Corruption Index incorporates all the possible forms of corruption, including bribes to officials and illegal or improper use of budgetary funds. The rankings also evaluate the effectiveness of any anti-corruption measures taken by the government.

The fight against corruption has been a cornerstone of President Medvedev’s domestic policy. New laws have obliged officials to declare their incomes and assets, and has imposed tougher sanctions and penalties for bribe-takers and givers. The Russian Ministry of Justice encourages citizens to report bribe-takers to the authorities.

However, research published in July 2011 revealed that the average bribe in Russia has increased almost sevenfold – to a whopping $10,000.

Today: 21:58

This week, in light of the results of Russia's parliamentary elections, Moscow’s expat community is actively discussing the big upcoming protest rally – and its possible outcomes.

Today: 22:44

As a retrospective of Ruth Orkin's works opens at the Lumiere Brothers House of Photography, RT talked to the exhibition’s curator about Orkin’s American life and Russian roots.

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Moscow marks No-Smoking Day

25.02, 18:14

The country’s Health Ministry is pushing for a new regulation that will oblige the tobacco industry to print onto cigarettes packs large and gloomy images of the effects of smoking.

30.12.2010, 05:30

Following its anti-alcohol campaign which featured a deranged squirrel and went viral over the internet, the Russian Ministry of Health has offered adherents of a healthy lifestyle the option of donning clothes that display the crazed squirrel.

25.10.2010, 19:56

Government deputies have come up with the revised draft of a new anti-smoking law that is seen as less radical than its predecessor.

06.08.2010, 20:09

Tobacco producers are outraged by the new production code adopted by Russia and CIS countries.

//

Published: 17 November, 2011, 19:50
Edited: 17 November, 2011, 22:50

Intelligent horse helps Muscovites give up smoking

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TAGS: Health, Thrills&Spills, Law, Prime Time Russia, Anya Fedorova, Neil Harvey, Lindsay France

As part of international anti-smoking campaign, Moscow authorities wage war against ashtrays in restaurants and send superheroes to give lectures on tobacco’s killing effects.

Eager to take part in No-Smoking Day celebrations, 27 restaurants in Moscow have strictly banned smoking on their premises, removing ashtrays from the tables and cigarettes from the menu.

While the ban on smoking in public places is just waiting to be legally introduced, some places are stepping up to the initiative voluntarily. To support the initiative, the authorities promise draw an interactive map of smoking-free cafes – it will list all the eateries that decided to give up on smoking zones.

Nearly 35 per cent of working Russians and up to 90 percent of restaurants and bar visitors are passive smokers.

For the time being, the ban on smoking in public catering facilities is not obligatory. The draft anti-smoking law will be submitted to the State Duma by late 2011.

The ministry suggests banning smoking in public places and tobacco advertising, including on public transport from 2014, while hotels, cafes and nightclubs will become smoke-free starting 2015. By 2013, cigarettes should disappear from store shelves to be sold only by catalogue.

In another curious anti-tobacco move, the Health Ministry hired its own superhero to preach non-smoking policies on Moscow streets. The red horse, called Hammer, was stopping Muscovites who happened to be passing by and lectured them on the harmful effects on smoking.

At least 400,000 people die in Russia annually from smoking-related diseases. Official statistics indicate that 45 percent of Russian citizens have smoked, and 34 percent of them smoke all the time. Currently, the average age when a person starts smoking in Russia is 11 years. Despite the annual decrease in the population, cigarette consumption grows every year.

Meanwhile, Moscow's air quality turned out to be the fourth-cleanest among eight major cities in the world.

Stockholm topped the ranking, with Paris and Prague occupying second and third place respectively. Hong Kong came eighth, preceded by New York, Kiev and London.

Cars are named the main source of pollution, accounting for 90 per cent of all emissions. The rest is due to industry and energy companies.

The survey was conducted by a Russian ecology research centre.

16.11, 23:05

Moscow’s city hall is rolling out new recycling options for the large number of Muscovites ready to go green.

Today: 21:10

A ground-breaking piece of Russian literature and revolutionary school of art were among the spotlights of this day in Russian history.

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White House Obama-hating shooter busted

16.11, 21:01

Authorities are considering whether an abandoned assault rifle found in Washington DC on Friday is linked to a possible assassination attempt on President Barack Obama after a bullet has been recovered from a White House window.

14.11, 20:58

Nearly 60 days after the Occupy Wall Street movement began, cops across the country cracked down on encampments in Oakland, Albany and cities in-between over the weekend, in a series of events perhaps the most detrimental to the movement so far.

Occupy Wall Street //

Published: 17 November, 2011, 16:10

This undated photo courtesy of the United States Park Police shows suspect Oscar Ortega-Hernandez (AFP Photo / US PARK POLICE)

TAGS: Arms, Crime, Hate crimes, Obama, Law, Vehicles, USA

Police in Pennsylvania have arrested a young man thought to be behind last week’s White House shooting. The suspect allegedly shot at a window in the executive mansion, while President Barack Obama was in California.

­Idaho Falls resident Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, has a history of mental instability and is thought to be “obsessed” with the President. 

Last Friday, he was seen in the area of the White House. Later, shots were heard in Constitution Avenue, half a mile away, at about 9.30 pm.  Two cars were seen speeding down the avenue from the White House. Later, police found an abandoned car near the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge with an assault rifle, allegedly an AK-47 replica, inside. This led them to Ortega.

Outside the President’s residence, security services found two bullets. One of them had struck the ballistic glass of the mansion’s living quarters. The White House website says the damaged window is in front of the Yellow Oval Room, in the middle of the family's living quarters on the floor that contains the President’s bedroom and Lincoln guest suite.

Ortega was identified by a hotel desk clerk who saw the man’s photos, distributed by the secret service. The suspect was arrested Wednesday afternoon about 55 miles east of Pittsburgh, at a hotel near Indiana. He did not resist arrest, and was brought to Pennsylvania state police custody.

It appears Ortega believed he was on a personal mission from God that may have led him to attack the White House. The man is thought to obsessed with Barack Obama, and with the date of the incident – 11/11/11. Besides having mental health issues, Ortega reportedly has violent tendencies and has faced some 20 charges, including drugs and domestic violence. He has never been associated with any radical organization.

One of the officials involved in the case says Ortega-Hernandez hates the president, Washington and American society, and this was a sufficient reason for the man to open fire.

He is to appear before court in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

The secret service found that Ortega spent several weeks circulating around Washington Mall before the incident. There were suspicions that he had an accomplice in the Occupy DC campground near the White House, but having searched the camp, the secret service acknowledged this trace is cold.

Ortega’s family say the man disappeared from home on October 31. On his ride to Washington he was stopped and questioned by police in the capital’s suburb Arlington as a suspicious person, but at the time police did not have any reason to detain him and merely took his photo.
This is at least the third time in 20 years that Washington’s state buildings have come under attack.

In October 1994, when Bill Clinton was in office, Francisco Martin Duran opened fire at the White House with a semi-automatic rifle. He sprayed the mansion with almost 30 bullets, before being subdued by passers-by. He was handed 40 years in prison.

Marine Corps reservist Yonathan Melaku, arrested after a bomb scare at the Pentagon this summer, is thought last year to have carried out a pre-dawn shooting rampage, targeting military buildings, including the Pentagon and National Museum of the Marine Corps. He remains in custody.

Today: 14:46

A Soviet KV-1 tank which sank in the Neva River near Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) during World War II has been successfully recovered from the bottom of the river in the Kirov district of northwestern Russia’s Leningrad Region.

Today: 16:35

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Expats inspired by Moscow rallies

Today: 15:53

Russia’s Public Chamber has criticized calls for the results of elections to the State Duma to be cancelled, adding that they oppose all public discussion of the issue.

Parliamentary Elections 2011 08.12, 18:16

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has called on people protesting at the result of elections to the State Duma to act legally and stressed that reports of election violations must be investigated thoroughly.

Parliamentary Elections 2011

Published: 09 December, 2011, 21:58

Moscow rally (RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev)

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TAGS: Election, Prime Time Russia, Immigration, Anya Fedorova, Neil Harvey, Lindsay France

This week, in light of the results of Russia's parliamentary elections, Moscow’s expat community is actively discussing the big upcoming protest rally – and its possible outcomes.

Today: 21:54

Daredevil drivers can sigh with relief, as two thirds of Moscow's 150 speed cameras are not properly functional.

Today: 22:33

As the world celebrates International Anti-Corruption Day, Russian law enforcement officials report the results of their fight against bribery.

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Senate refuses abortion rights for rape victims in the military

02.12, 20:50

The terrifying legislation that allows for Americans to be arrested, detained indefinitely, tortured and interrogated — without charge or trial — passed through the Senate on Thursday with an overwhelming support from 93 percent of lawmakers.

05.12, 23:47

Days before a preliminary hearing for suspected WikiLeaks aide and US Army PFC Bradley Manning are set to begin, the attorney for the accused whistleblower is asking for two big names to take the stand.

Global terrorism 06.12, 21:06

What happens when a presidential hopeful considered on the fringe of the GOP’s ideologies has an actually viable chance at capturing the party’s nomination?

US Election 2012 07.12, 22:38

Did Congress vote last week to indefinitely detain Americans and hold them without charge in military prisons? Absolutely! But don’t worry; the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act didn’t kill all of your freedoms.

08.12, 22:41

Days after the Pentagon first denied and then admitted that it lost touch with a high-tech drone aircraft, authorities in Iran are now saying that they have the plane — and its condition is pristine.

Published: 09 December, 2011, 23:34

Senate refuses abortion rights for rape victims in the military

TAGS: Health, Military, Law, USA, Employment, Government Spending, Culture, War

In addition to turning America into a warzone and allowing indefinite torture and detainment for US citizens, Congress this week decided that women raped while serving their country won’t be provided coverage for abortions.

The military, it turns out, is pro-life.

Despite one-in-three women in the military saying they’ve been sexually assaulted while serving their country, the Senate decided to skip over voting for an amendment which would have allowed rape victims coverage for abortion. While civilians employed by the US government are given such protection, coverage is not granted in the US military. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) hoped to change that with an amendment tacked on to the National Defense Authorization Bill, but on Wednesday the Senate decided to move pass the legislation without bringing it up for vote.

Congress did, however, agree to make some changes while voting for the act for Fiscal Year 2012. Should President Barack Obama approve the National Defense Act, sodomy and bestiality in the armed forces will be legalized and Americans can be detained and tortured indefinitely for suspected terrorism crimes without ever being charged.

Sen. Shaheen’s amendment would have lifted the ban on military insurance coverage for victims of rape and incest that sought abortions. Past legislation had granted such coverage, but it was dropped back in 1984. The current law, enacted in 1996, keeps DoD medical personnel from performing abortions and another provision keeps Pentagon funds from covering the procedure except in cases where it threatens the life of the mother.

“This policy is fundamentally unfair to the more than 200,000 women serving in our military," Shaheen said this week.

"They are fighting to protect our rights, and they should have the same rights to reproductive health care as our civilian employees."

"I'm very disappointed that we will not have a chance this week to debate this critical issue," Shaheen tells Huffington Post,"but we'll keep fighting for it as long as we have to."

As Shaheen and other activists continue that fight, thousands of women are sexually assaulted annually in the military. The Department of Defense reveals that in Fiscal Year 2010, 3,000 sexual assaults were reported within the ranks of the armed forces, a quarter of which it lists as rape. Coincidentally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation voted this week to alter their current definition of what constitutes rape, broadening it to include sexual assaults involving penetration not currently contained within the text.

The DoD adds that while the number of reported rapes are substantial, close to 90 percent of rapes are unreported. Compared with civilian life, rape within the military is nearly double.

Today: 21:32

Ron Paul stopped in Ames, Iowa on the campaign trail on Thursday, and used some harsh words to explain President George W Bush’s reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

US Election 2012 9/11 tragedy

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Putin & Medvedev – Anti-Populism

12.11, 16:17

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has rejected claims that Russia’s political tandem is ineffective and is leading the country down a road to stagnation, and says evolutionary changes are to take place in the country’s political system.

26.10, 13:01

There will be no attempt to resurrect the USSR, Kazakh President Nazarbaev has stated in an article devoted to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s proposal to create a Eurasian Union comprising Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

25.10, 22:30

Russia's president and prime minister have joined forces again, this time to get the harvest in.

Published: 17 November, 2011, 17:21

President Dmitry Medvedev, right, and prime-minister Vladimir Putin at a meeting with retirees and veterans in the Grand Kremlin Palace (AFP Photo / Vladimir Rodionov)

TAGS: Election, Medvedev, Putin, Russia, Politics

Russian PM Vladimir Putin has likened situation in Russia after the abdication of its last Tsar with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

­Speaking to a group of veterans and pensioners on Thursday, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev criticized populist rhetoric ahead of approaching parliamentary elections in December.

Putin said that he considered populists everyone who was not doing anything but making promises.

“We are now in view of elections, but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that now we still we have a lot of problems. We should not let the populists speculate and reap dividends,” the prime minister said.

Addressing the pensioners, Putin also said that he still considered the collapse of the Soviet Union “the greatest shame”. “We did not have enough pride to keep the country undivided. The majority thought that it could not be worse. You all know very well to what it all has led to – unlimited gangsterism and unprecedented looting of the state,” the PM said.

Putin said that Russia had undergone two terrible periods in its history: 1917, when the Russian Emperor abdicated from throne, and 1991, the year of the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Medvedev said that the Soviet legacy had some positive points relevant to bringing up the younger generation.

“For example, they were creating a so-called single unity – the Soviet People. Despite all the problems, this model worked. We were all friends, we communicated and this was a completely appropriate objective that now has no ideological tint,” Medvedev said, adding that the concept helped people survive together in the huge country.

Today: 16:19

The danger of local armed conflicts along Russia's borders exploding into full-scale nuclear war has grown following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s chief of staff said on Thursday.

Russia-NATO relations

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