Russian officials who don’t respond
adequately to complaints from citizens may face fines of as much
as 30,000 rubles ($1,080), part of efforts to reign in
bureaucracy, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
Russians will be able to challenge federal and local
government decisions under a new administrative complaints
procedure, Putin told a government meeting in Moscow today.
Officials who fail to review complaints within 10 days or refuse
to register legitimate grievances may be fined.
“Complaints often go to the very agencies people are
complaining about,” Putin said. “We need to break this vicious
circle.”
President Dmitry Medvedev has made tackling graft and
bureaucracy key goals in a country that ranked 154th of 178
nations in Berlin-based Transparency International’s 2010
Corruption Perceptions Index. Last month he approved plans to
help stem corruption by improving citizens’ understanding of the
law.
