Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center

Konstantin Sonin, a professor at the New Economic School/CEFIR and columnist for Vedomosti, comments that corruption is just as harmful during an economic boom as it is during a down-turn. The difference is that when times are good, the overall cost to the economy and society are less noticeable.

Sonin calls on elected politicians to be more accountable to the people who elect them and for the reinstatement of direct elections for governors. In Russia, there is a commonly held misconception that democracy is a luxury that only economically developed and prosperous countries can afford. Sonin concludes that the best way to achieve democracy is by a return to direct elections.