39 percent of Russian entrepreneurs say corruption levels declined over the past year

The latest polling from Russia’s Chamber of Commerce shows that 39 percent of the country’s entrepreneurs say they believe corruption levels in Russia declined over the past year. According to the group’s “Business Barometer of Corruption,” 9.5 percent of business people say there was more corruption in the past year, and 31.8 percent reported no change in Russia’s corruption levels. In last year’s survey, only 25 percent of entrepreneurs said they noticed a decline in corruption.

According to the business people polled by the Chamber of Commerce, entrepreneurs typically encounter corruption when obtaining licenses, interacting with state inspectors, and when bidding on state procurement contracts. According to this year’s survey, 40 percent of Russian business people say the government’s anti-corruption efforts are ineffective.