New Amendments to Russia's Privatization Legislation: Cosmetic Measures or Further Deregulation?

Abstract

Analysis of recent updates to the Russian privatization legislation in 2015 allows saying that the 2015 amendments as a whole aim to boost the process of privatization. The suggested enhancements for the information system of privatization of government-owned and municipal property and for the mechanism of selling such property are intended to render the entire privatization process more transparent while counteracting occurrences of corruption and criminality. It has not gone unnoticed that the practice of narrowing the scope of the privatization legislation continues. Since the legislation came into force late in 2001, the number of property categories whose disposal goes beyond the scope of the provisions thereof has nearly doubled (to 20 from 11), some of which have been given a broader interpretation. The next few years will show what kind of effect the potential of the foregoing amendments has on the effectiveness of this process, bearing in mind the contribution to meeting the federal budget deficit and generating budget revenues at other levels of public authority.