A blog of the Wilson Center
Ukrainian Corruption, Russian Corruption
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Ukraine is more than 30 spots ahead of Russia on the 2022 Rule of Law Index.
Some skeptics of assistance to Ukraine have justified their position by pointing to the country鈥檚 ongoing issues with transparency, corruption, and rule of law. While American policymakers are obviously right to demand oversight and accountability, there is also broader context to consider.
Corruption has been a concern in Ukraine for some time, but driven by citizen and civil society demands, the country鈥檚 leaders began undertaking noticeable reforms before Russia鈥檚 invasion in February 2022. As Transparency International (TI) noted in its 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which covers findings up through 2021, 鈥溾ar-torn Ukraine is one of the few significant improvers on the CPI, having gained eight points since 2013.鈥
And while the Russian onslaught has had a profound impact on Ukrainian plans and progress, Transparency International that the government is still working to improve its record: 鈥淓ven while fighting back the invasion, in June 2022, the parliament adopted a National Anti-Corruption Strategy and appointed a new head of the office that brings corruption before the courts.鈥澛
They aren鈥檛 the only major organization to document Ukraine鈥檚 efforts and the country鈥檚 sharp contrast with Putin鈥檚 Russia. The World Justice Project鈥檚 , which includes factors like absence of corruption, having an open government, and constraints on government powers, ranks Ukraine 76th out of 140 countries analyzed鈥 ahead of countries like Serbia (83rd), Albania (87th), Belarus (99th) and 31 spots ahead of Russia (107th). It鈥檚 even one spot ahead of India.聽
Russia鈥檚 invasion鈥攃omplete with military actions, economic pressure, and information warfare鈥攈as materially strained governance in many countries鈥攅specially in Eurasia. As Freedom House concluded in a , 鈥淢oscow鈥檚 full-scale invasion of Ukraine [has] deepened the divide between autocracies and democracies鈥 in the region. Many believe that one broad reason for Putin鈥檚 war is that effective governance from any of his neighbors challenges the political underpinnings of his autocratic approach to governance and economic policy. If Putin were to succeed in his war objectives, does anyone seriously believe Ukraine would become less corrupt and more accountable?听
The World Justice Project plans to release its 2023 Rule of Law Index on October 25.聽
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