Russia and WTO

More than 10-15 years after most of the former Soviet Union and former Eastern Bloc countries joined the World Trade Organization, Russia remains one of the largest economies in the world that is not a member. However, this may change soon. After years of debates, Russia and Georgia have struck an agreement that would allow Russia to join the WTO. Russia is currently the only BRIC economy that is not a member of this organization. Of the other FSU countries, Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan are still in the Observer stage, and Turkmenistan has not started negotiations.

Bribery and Corruption

According to Transparency International's Russian director, Elena Panfilova, "There are no islands of integrity in Russian public and business life." TI's report of 28 countries ranks Russia at the bottom, where bribery was most likely to be mixed with business transactions. China was ranked only one step ahead, at #27.

Curiously, there are no other CIS or post-communist European states included in this study. Indeed, according to TI's 2010 Corruption Prediction Index, many of the states of this region fall into the red, with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan ranking below even Russia in terms of flagrant corruption. The full list of anti-corruption reports can be found here