Anti-Corruption Education in the Modern System of Corruption Prevention Measures

Abstract

In view of the growing number of corruption cases registered in the Russian Federation in 2021 and the adoption of a new policy document that determined the key directions of preventing this negative social and criminal phenomenon - the National Anti-corruption Plan 2021-2024, approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 16, 2021 № 478, the authors of the article analyzed the contents of anti-corruption education as preventive work in its general social, special criminological and victimological aspects. It is stressed that anti-corruption education plays an important role in building the anti-corruption mindset of the people. The objectives of improving the effectiveness of educational and other measures aimed at the promotion of anti-corruption standards in the society were briefly formulated in Section ХII of the National Anti-corruption Plan 2021-2024. The responsibility for implementing it and undertaking specific actions of anti-corruption education lies with the Government of the Russian Federation, the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, and others. The authors also state that some of the corruption prevention measures foreseen in the Anti-corruption Plan are yet to be designed by the above-mentioned bodies of state power. Due to this, they propose specific educational measures that could be included in the Anti-corruption Education Program for students, both those used earlier (research conferences, round tables, competitions of research papers in educational establishments, etc.) and new ones (the organization of educational centers «Anti-corruption Volunteers» at universities, inclusion of anti-corruption subjects in Masters degree university courses - «Specific features of organizing the investigation of crimes of corruption», «Qualification of crimes of corruption», «Anti-corruption mindset», «Anti-corruption policy», and others). The necessity of modernizing the methods of anti-corruption education by using internet platforms, social networks and video content is pointed out. It is suggested that Internet sites and resources of the bodies of state power, local governance and NGOs should be used for the promotion of citizens anti-corruption initiatives (collecting information of the uncovered cases of corruption) and the establishment of dialogue with the people about the potential vulnerability to corruption.