By Ekaterina Janashia | 2026-03-31

President Vladimir Putin signed a law last year eliminating the requirement for Russian officials to file annual anti-corruption declarations. In that same year, Russian authorities registered 43,241 corruption-related crimes -- the highest figure in 13 years.

The Kremlin is prosecuting corruption at a record pace. It is also systematically dismantling the tools that would allow anyone to find it.

That contradiction sits at the heart of a March investigation by independent outlet Verstka, which analyzed data from the Prosecutor General's Office. The numbers are striking on their own: a 12.3% year-on-year increase in corruption offenses, the third-largest spike in 14 years, with more than 11,000 individuals convicted. But the more telling detail may be what is disappearing alongside the prosecutions: mandatory financial disclosures, public data on security services corruption, and oversight of a defense budget now roughly 30% shielded from public view.

The result is a system that punishes exposure, not wrongdoing.

Who's getting caught

The convictions cut across nearly every level of the Russian state. Among those sentenced in 2025: 548 state and municipal officials, 16 high-ranking federal or regional figures, and 64 employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service.

Law enforcement bore the heaviest share -- 183 traffic police officers and 174 general police employees were sentenced, alongside 15 investigators, 15 tax officials, 14 customs officers, 12 bailiffs and seven employees of the Prosecutor's Office. At least one judge was also convicted.

Experts say the registered figures likely represent only cases where political protection failed or low-level bribery was easily documented -- the tip of a much larger iceberg.

A purge at the top

Prosecution of senior officials has reached a 10-year high.

Between January and mid-October 2025, 155 high-ranking figures, including senators, regional ministers and governors, were arrested, more than double the number recorded in 2023, according to a separate investigation by Novaya Gazeta Europe. Some analysts described the wave as a "purge" intended to instill fear and redistribute assets among the elite.

The defense sector has emerged as the most fertile ground for graft.

The Moscow Times calculated that 43 criminal cases linked to state defense contracts were filed in the first eight months of 2025 -- an absolute record since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The cases that emerged were striking in their brazenness. Authorities detained Vladimir Bazarov, deputy governor of the Kursk region, on suspicion of embezzling funds intended for defensive fortifications. Prosecutors accused Krasnodar deputy governor Alexander Vlasov of large-scale theft of humanitarian aid intended for the war effort.

Both held senior posts at the heart of Russia's war economy, and their arrests highlighted something new: even the most connected officials have become fair game.

Transparency erodes further

Aside from eliminating financial disclosure requirements, the Prosecutor General's Office began withholding data on corruption crimes committed by security personnel.

Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, released in February 2026, placed Russia 157th out of 182 countries with a score of 22 out of 100 -- on par with Honduras, Zimbabwe and Chad, its worst performance since the index began.

Researchers said the full-scale invasion had served as a catalyst for "deep institutional degradation," with wartime secrecy shielding roughly 30% of the federal budget from any public oversight. Russia's declining rank was attributed primarily to "institutional breakdown and political repression."