The inefficiency, corruption and lack of accountability that afflict public administration in Russia impose
substantial direct costs on both entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens. This paper examines the major weaknesses
of Russia’s public administration and assesses the government’s recently revised programme of administrative
reform. It lays particular stress on the relationship between public bureaucracies and the larger institutional
environment within which they operate, as well as on the need for far greater transparency of public bodies and
stronger non-judicial means of redress for citizens wishing to challenge bureaucratic decisions. Many of the
problems of Russia’s public administration are aggravated by the fact that the Russian state often tries to do too
much: the paper therefore explores the link between administrative reform and the scope of state ownership and
regulation.
