Moscow orders huge cut to Russian police
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday ordered a one fifth cut to the staff of Interior Ministry after a series of scandals involving the police. The reform could affect at least 280,000 people and become one of the most ambitious reforms of Russia’s bloated bureaucracy since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Medvedev ordered a 20 percent cut to the Interior Ministry’s staff which includes the police, interior ministry troops, investigators and civilian officials. Medvedev said that disciplinary problems and law breaking by police officers had provoked widespread concerns in society making the reform essential.
The move comes after a series of scandals involving the Russian police, including one case when a police major went on a shooting in a Moscow supermarket, killing at least two people. Endemic bribe-taking and documented cases of torture while in custody have earned the police a fearful reputation in Russian society and many crimes are simply not reported for fear of coming into any contact with police.
Photo: Lenin and Tzar Nicholas as hystorical symbols of Russia
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