An online database listing some of the more absurd examples of Russian red tape - and the officials responsible - is being launched as part of President Dmitry Medvedev’s Big Government project.
The portal, called “Russia without fools,” is expected to be up and running later this month. Last year, prominent bloggers Ilya Varlamov and Dmitry Ternovsky launched a similar project, “Russia without follies.”
“Our goal is to collect bureaucrats’ follies in order to eliminate them from our lives,” project coordinator Raf Shakirov told RIA Novosti.
“We have a mathematical formula to calculate an average stupidity level in each [Russian] region,” Shakirov said in an interview with the Izvestia daily.
Online users will be able to add information on controversial initiatives to the database, he said.
“Our calculations will be kept secret in order to prevent fraud - in case someone decides to attack a particular region by overwhelming it with reports of absurdity,” he added.
Medvedev proposed creating a database to accumulate information about the most controversial bureaucratic proposals and initiatives of Russian officials during his state-of-the-nation address in late December 2011.
The Russian president moved to boost cooperation between the government and civil society by putting forward the Big Government project in October last year. The assembly involves some 80 people, including politicians, businessmen, artists, journalists and civil society activists.
