Communists summon Stalin to fight corruption
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation has launched an anti-corruption website which will collect complaints from the public - and named it after Joseph Stalin.
The Joseph Stalin Anti-Corruption Committee Website was launched on Friday and is only available in Russian. The site is illustrated with portraits of Stalin and slogans from the 1930s, such as, “We should work in such a way, that comrade Stalin would thank us!”“Our main goal is in creation, not destruction – to fight corruption with the aim of maintaining the country, not breaking it into parts. The work is difficult and subtle. Those who are ready to do it are welcome to our ranks,” the introduction reads.The idea of the website is to recreate the all-Russian “black list”, where anyone could submit a report on violations and crimes. Communist party members who work at different levels of the legislature have promised to use their powers to check the information. “Our task is to make any civil servant involved in dishonest actions to feel with his skin that the information about his operations can become known to the whole country at any moment,” the website reads. So far, the site is filled with news reports about corruption crimes and simple financial violations in various government structures.The project has the clear aim of garnering the support of voters at the December elections for the State Duma. The Communist party has traditionally built its policy on anti-corruption measures and the issue forms the backbone of its criticism of the parliamentary majority party, United Russia. In spring, the communists suggested that Russia approve the 20th article of the UN Convention on Countering Corruption, which considers any sharp rise in the wealth of a civil servant a crime if the individual fails to prove that its sources are legal. The Russian parliament has yet to consider the bill. Fighting corruption is a popular issue in Russia both with the authorities and the opposition. Young lawyer Aleksei Navalny shot to nationwide fame after accusing state-owned corporations of corruption and tax evasion. However, no criminal cases resulted from the accusations, while Navalny himself was taken to court for slander.
