Why do we give bribes?

According to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KMIS), 50 percent of Ukrainians believe that law enforcement agencies, educational establishments, medical institutions, and the judicial authorities are the most corrupt institutions in the country.

Not a single important problem, including enrollment in institutions of higher learning, can be solved without the offer and acceptance of bribes.

The findings of the poll “Corruption in Higher Education,” which was conducted by the Gorshenin Institute this past September, indicate that 63 percent of Ukrainians citizens have given presents or money to lecturers at institutions of higher education during enrolment or the course of studies.

When and how will this situation improve? KMIS’s findings indicate that 65 percent of Ukrainians believe there will be less corruption in Ukraine once citizens learn about their rights and ways to protect them. Experts, however, believe that this problem will disappear only after citizens stop using corruption as a method of self-assertion; when the people in power and the general public start living according to the new rules.

Is it possible to live without offering and accepting bribes? Is Ukraine prepared to live this way? The Day asked its experts to answer these questions.

Dr. Mykola VASKIV, professor at Ivan Ohiienko National University, Kamianets-Podilsky:

If bribery and corruption exist, this means that there are people who need these phenomena, and there are certain prerequisites for them. There are interesting statistics on corruption in various countries. Out of 180 countries, Ukraine traditionally scores 100 something. There is, however, another remarkable index: the three countries with the lowest levels of corruption received 9.3 points on a 10-point scale – in other words, there is a 0.7 level of corruption even in such countries. No country can boast of having completely overcome corruption. This means that the desire to obtain additional funds for a certain illegal bureaucratic transaction is germane to human nature. However, while in some countries such preconditions and manifestations of this reprehensible phenomenon are severely restricted, in other countries no one lifts a finger to change the situation.

What are the causes of bribery in Ukraine? First and foremost, as Russian-speaking citizens put it, “it has come about historically.” Khabar, the Ukrainian word for bribe, is etymologically and essentially an Asian concept that became firmly implanted in our consciousness via Muscovy. Nor was it coincidental that the Ottoman Empire was the world’s only country where the khabar was legal. The only strict requirement was to pay taxes on khabars, on time and in full.

Another reason – which is a consequence of the first one – is the fact that in the Russian empire, and later in the Soviet empire, the concept of law was extremely relative. All decisions depended on bureaucrats. In other words, a bureaucrat’s palm had to be greased. This practice is still very much alive; the higher the bureaucrat’s rank, the freer he feels in dealing with the law. Even the lowest-ranking clerk wants a bribe for something he is bound by law to do.

When the media cover bribery, they lash out most often at educators, doctors, and traffic cops, although it is common knowledge that the fattest envelopes are slipped into pockets in the corridors of power, tax administrations, and so on. There, bribes are given in the thousands and tens of thousands of US dollars and more (definitely not in hryvnias or Russian rubles).

But why pick a bone with them and make enemies among the controlling authorities that can shut down your business tomorrow, or arrange for you to suffer a blow to the head or other parts of the body? In contrast to them, teachers and doctors are harmless creatures, so they can be attacked at will.

Despite the comparatively small sums changing hands in the educational and medical spheres, bribery is especially dangerous here because it generates a sense of rampant, all-embracing corruption. This feeling is so deeply implanted in our minds that people often tend to slip an envelope into someone’s pocket even when there is no need. This makes the bribe-taker feel that every time he does something he is doing a big favor, rather than carrying out his duty for which he is paid a salary.

It is precisely the word “salary” that explains why bribery is inevitable in the post-Soviet space. What teachers, doctors, nurses, and paramedics are paid can hardly be described as a salary. Naturally, an automatic increase in salaries even to the European level will not eliminate corruption and bribery because they are part of the sovok subconscious, but this could become a real obstacle.

Another stimulus for bribery is the universality of education. Today anyone with enough money can enroll in an institution of higher learning (VNZ) on a paying basis. Even if certain students are expelled, they will be welcomed at another VNZ. In the absolute majority of VNZs, especially private ones, there is an unwritten directive to the effect that no students who pay for tuition may be expelled, even those whose academic performance is terrible. A lecturer’s logic in such cases is simple: if I have to give them good grades sooner or later, better I should do this for some sort of reward.

Add here sporadic salary delays, the high rate of inflation, the need to appear in front of students wearing something better than a quilted jacket or overalls, and many other factors, and it becomes clear that bribery is in for the long haul in Ukraine. It should also be mentioned that not a single high-ranking bribe-taker and corruptionist has ever been brought to justice; at least not a single case has ever made headlines.

Viktor BERIOZKA, coordinator of the civic organization Prymnozhymo slavu Prydniprovia (Let’s Boost the Glory of Prydniprovia):

The cause of bribery is the pitiful state of our country. Our bureaucrats are paid so little that their miserable salaries lead them willy-nilly to accepting bribes in one form or another. Most state employees earn between 1,200 and 2,000 hryvnias a month, but their official status requires them to wear decent clothes and shoes, and they have to find ways to support their families. All the talk about our bureaucrats earning big salaries does not correspond to reality. After the Orange Revolution big salary increases were given only to the highest ranking civil servants, whereas medium– and lower-level ones are paid so little they can barely survive.

At the same time, they wield power, albeit on a small scale, and they have access to budget funds. If we are talking about abuses and bribery among doctors or lecturers, these are civil servants with rather modest salaries. All this makes them look for ways to earn money on the side, counter to the interests of the state and society. Note that no bribes are given or taken in private firms; here they simply increase the prices of their goods and services. State and budget-sustained employees don’t have this opportunity. In other words, the state system forces people to commit abuses of office. Corruption will exist as long as state employees are poorly paid.

It is not enough for people to say they have never stolen anything. It is necessary to create a system of government service correctly, institute effective control over bureaucrats’ revenues and expenses, and consider how to stimulate work in the budget-sustained sphere. All these problems are being more or less effectively resolved in neighboring European countries, but clearly no one is interested in learning from their experience in Ukraine.

Mychailo WYNNYCKYJ, acting vice-president for research and training, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy:

From I’ve been told bribery is a huge problem, for example, in the system of higher education, especially with regard to enrollment in universities. When I say that no bribes are needed to enroll in Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and that trying to give a bribe will get you nowhere even if you do find a bribe-taker, no one believes me. To me this means that our society suffers from all the symptoms of the disease of bribery. I think that bribery is particularly widespread where people are paid little, where people are bound by authorizations over which the state has a degree of monopoly. Because the bureaucrats that are entitled to issue such authorizations are in the low pay bracket, they don’t miss any opportunity to feather their nests, and the temptation is very strong.

To solve this problem on this level, it is necessary to increase their salaries. Second, it is necessary to build a system that would be just by definition from the very outset. For example, knowledge should be tested independently: this is a correct step toward overcoming corruption throughout the world. Naturally, this system has to be upgraded, but the very fact of testing is good and is meant to reduce the temptation to accept bribes.

As for corruption in the health system – considered one of the most corrupt – here the only problem is salaries. If a person occupies an important, prestigious position (and the medical profession is one of the most prestigious occupations in the world because it requires a lot of specialized knowledge), such a person must be paid accordingly. A well-paid professional will not accept bribes, especially if accepting bribes is punishable, for example, by loss of employment. It should be noted that Ukraine’s medical schools are, unfortunately, regarded as most corrupt where enrolment is concerned. If this is so, then right from the very beginning medical students begin to believe that anything in life can be achieved with money. It is horrible to contemplate that patients will be treated by people who paid their way through their exams in medical school, or that you will be operated on by a surgeon who bought his diploma! The prospects are hair-raising, and the only conclusion is that this problem must be combated in a complex manner.

Oles DONII, MP, director of the Institute for Political Values Research:

Two hundred years ago, a famous European who was traveling across the Russian empire (and Ukraine was then part of it), noted that the cruelty of Russian legislation could be mitigated only by strict adherence to all laws. Unfortunately, corruption in Ukraine is the result of nonlegal consciousness that has permeated the entire society, from top to bottom. Therefore, our problem is not just corruption but also the people’s nonlegal mentality, and bribery is simply one component of this problem.

What I mean is the lack of respect for law and order. To resolve this problem, it is necessary first to perceive it, diagnose it, and only then to start a course of treatment. Naturally, this group therapy requires an example; there must be someone who will set an example of how best to go about doing this. In our case, it is the elite in power. It should be the one to set an example. Accusations that the members of the elite are worse than our society are unfair. Our problem is that the Ukrainian elite is no better than Ukrainian society. It’s just that those who are in power have more opportunities to indulge in corruption. Whereas in the case of an ordinary citizen it is a matter of several dozen or hundred hryvnias, in the upper echelons of power we’re talking about tens or hundreds of millions of hryvnias.

Therefore, Ukraine lacks an elite with a state-building way of thinking, which would be able to set such an example. On the legislative level, solving this problem takes not only the passing of a bill, but also the ethics behind its implementation. In the Verkhovna Rada, passing bills is not a problem. The main problem is that these laws are not carried out by the president, the ministers, or the MPs.

So above all, we must start acting in accordance with the law. Ukraine, however, is gradually becoming democratic and European; we’re studying the way Europe and the rest of the world live, trying to approach their living standards. I wish we would learn from the best experiences. Naturally, corruption was more endemic in the southern European countries, but even they are acting with an eye to the positive aspects of Protestant ethics and have achieved a degree of success along these lines. Let’s hope Ukraine succeeds in coping with this task.

Yevhen HOLOVAKHA, deputy director of the Institute of Sociology at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine:

For me, this problem is abstract because no one gives me bribes. I have adapted so well that I never have anything to do with bribery. Would Ukrainians like to live without bribes? I think 99.9 percent of the population would answer this question in the affirmative. However, this is impossible in countries whose economies and politics are in a state of continuous restructuring and transformation. We know that bribery is a big problem even in the advanced democracies. This shadowy structure of society exists, and no civic community can exist without it.

A noted sociologist said that society can exist with all its legal and other institutions only in the presence of crime, corruption, and all other deviant forms of behavior. If we eliminated them, people would direct their dissatisfaction not against crime but the government. The government would then be constantly pressured by aggressive individuals, and anarchy would reign supreme in society. Therefore, this scholar believes that all these are natural elements. Although this is a rather radical point of view, it does make sense.

The main thing is not to eliminate corruption but lower its ratio within society. This is regarded as a normal condition of society. Unfortunately, in our country corruption is the dominant form of relations in the political and economic domains. This also has to do with our history and the nature of changes in our lives and social institutions.

We often hear about the need to radically combat corruption. However, radical measures won’t get us anywhere because struggling against corruption means creating a living standard in society in which most citizens are no longer interested in corruption. This can happen only when people are interested in corruption’s nonexistence, when they have the money to combat it on an individual basis, when they can use this money to fight against bureaucrats demanding money for implementing people’s lawful interests and rights instead of giving them bribes.

Society’s attitude to this problem will change over time. A decade ago, when we polled Ukrainians about which social groups exerted the greatest degree of influence on the life of society, the mafia was in first place (in the early 1990s). Today the mafia comes third, after politicians and businesspeople. This is correct because our society is becoming normal little by little. This process could have been more dynamic but for a number of factors – primarily the incompetence of those who occupy important posts in the political sphere.

Still, there is a degree of progress. As seen from the experience of many European countries, resolving this problem in any society, even to a partial degree, takes decades – at least 30 years of normal economic and political development. Therefore, I think that several decades from now we won’t be saying that our society is in a state of prevailing or total corruption.