Corruption in Russian Law Enforcement

This study examines crime and corruption among Russian law enforcement agencies after 2009 Police Reforms (henceforth referred to as Reforms). These Reforms sought to curb corruption at all levels of the Russian civil service and among uniformed law enforcement personnel. Many law enforcement officers thought that the rebranding of the militsiya as “politsiya” would have a transformational effect within the organization as well as how others perceived it. Ultimately, the rebranding effort failed; the only concrete changes were the organization's name and its personnel's uniforms. In fact, the Reforms seem to have contributed to even more corruption and abuse of power, as well as an expansion of the Ministry of Interior's ties to corrupt networks.