As three government departments set about drawing up a new Public Procurement Law, President Medvedev reiterated the need for more openness in the procurement system last week, calling for tougher anti-corruption measures.

As a legal heir to the Soviet Union, the new Russia inherited not only its international status, nuclear weapons, and its diplomatic rights and obligations, but also its legal system. The latter proved to be one of the hardest to change, as the often complex and controversial development of the country’s political and economic climate undoubtedly affected the development of the legal system. Yet, despite multiple setbacks and obstacles, Russia’s rule of law is evolving at a rather fast pace and is gradually moving towards the world’s best practices.

In the early 1990s, there were great expectations that Russia would evolve into a full-fledged Western-style democracy with a market economy and a developed rule of law within a few years.  This transition continues to prove to be long and hard. Twenty years after the dissolution of the USSR and a quarter century after Mikhail Gorbachev launched perestroika, Russia remains in many respects a country in transition and the Russian legal system is no exception.

Dr. Christopher J. Gerry, senior lecturer in political economy at University College, London, discusses Russian health care reform and the country’s prospects in this sector.

Enacted after two decades of debate, the law “On Countering the Abuse of Inside Information and Market Manipulation in the Russian Federation” – commonly known as the Insider Trading Law – went into effect last week.  The Insider Trading Law, which was signed by President Medvedev in July 2010, specifically defines and prohibits all forms of insider trading and price manipulation in Russian financial corporations and markets.