People around the world have reacted with shock and outrage to the trove of documents leaked from a law firm in Panama that revealed secret bank accounts connected to hundreds of public officials, politicians and celebrities. The list of notables includes the current leaders of Argentina, Britain, China, Iceland, Russia, and Ukraine, among others, or people closely linked to them.
But, while the Panama Papers named close friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and suggested Putin himself might be involved, the reaction of the Russian public has been muted.
While thousands of people protested outside the prime minister’s office in Reykjavik Monday demanding Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson’s resignation, a mere three demonstrators showed up outside the Russian parliament building in Moscow Tuesday, and they were quickly detained.
The fact that even such a small public protest was quickly silenced comes as little surprise to political analysts, who say authorities are taking no chances with parliamentary elections scheduled later this year.
The Russian public’s general apathy to the Panama Papers’ allegations of high-level corruption may perplex some outside observers.
A public opinion poll released Wednesday by the independent Levada Center sheds some light on Russian thinking on the issue. It shows that while 56 percent of Russians think that corruption and bribery can be reduced, only 15 percent say it can be eliminated while 24 percent believe it is permanent.
The poll was conducted in February, before the Panama Papers leak was made public.
While Russians have to deal with everyday corruption – paying bribes to avoid tickets from traffic police, to get decent care in hospitals, and to more quickly navigate the state bureaucracy – they rarely get a glimpse of high-level corruption.
Most Russians get their information from ubiquitous Russian state media, which all send the same message, designed to show officials, especially at the very top, working hard for Russia. As Western media, and the few independent media in Moscow, were awaiting the revelations of the Panama Papers, the Kremlin prepared the public by announcing an expected “information attack” against Putin and his associates. Meanwhile, Putin confirmed a proposed National Anti-Corruption Plan for 2016-2017.
Russian state media gave only dismissive coverage to the Panama Papers, portraying them as part of a Western conspiracy to diminish Russia by any means necessary. According to Grazhdankin, most Russians buy into this conspiracy theory.
“Under the present confrontation with the West, they are interpreted by most Russians as ‘anti-Russian propaganda’ and the attempts of the West to discredit Russia,” he said.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office told the Interfax news agency it plans to investigate the data in the leaked documents to see if any Russian laws or international commitments were broken.
Source-VOA
