Putin proposes curbs on officials’ assets

Report of President Vladimir Putin's annual address to the Russian federal assembly in Moscow on the 12 December 2012.

Mr Putin announced a bill banning officials from holding foreign bank accounts, bonds and shares, and declaring all foreign property, as part of a broad campaign aimed at fighting official corruption.

Elsewhere in the 90 minute address, Mr Putin signalled a shift in the Kremlin’s attitude to the governing of the federation’s non-Russian nationalities, as he criticised some of Russia’s 21 ethnic autonomous regions for excessive zeal in asserting their national identities.

BBC News, 12.12.12: Putin warns of foreign meddling in politics in Russia http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20691886

RIA Novosti, 12.12.12: Putin Focuses on Domestic Issues in ‘Tepid’ Address http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20121212/178112293.html

RIA Novosti: Tag: Putin’s Address to Parliament (2012) http://en.rian.ru/trend/Putin_address_Parliament_2012/

ESO: Background information: Russian ‘civilisation’ stirs resentment http://www.europeansources.info/record/russian-civilisation-stirs-resentment/

Deutsche Welle, 12.12.12: Is Putin's corruption fight just for show? http://www.dw.de/is-putins-corruption-fight-just-for-show/a-16444916

Website: Transparency International Russia http://transparency.org.ru/en/

Chatham House: Expert Comment: Russia and its Values , November 2012 http://www.chathamhouse.org/media/comment/view/188213

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