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In December 2015, a prominent member of Russia’s ruling party was accused of plagiarising a large portion of his economic dissertation. But the strangest thing about the alleged plagiarism is not the accused’s lack of defence—it's that the Russian public didn't really seem to care. In fact, the Chairman of the State is one of more than 1,000 high achieving Russians who have been caught plagiarising. The accused include politicians, judges, prosecutors, police officials and even heads of universities.

A recent order has fuelled student anger. It is known as: "On the approval of the procedure for the introduction of disciplinary measures for students". Presented by the Ministry of Education and Science, the order allows students to be expelled from universities for the slightest violations of institutions' "codes of ethics" and in particular for participation in political protests and actions.

Since taking over the Kremlin last month, President Medvedev, has made it a priority to combat what he calls "legal nihilism" in Russia. A campaign has begun to clean the courts of bribe-taking judges and letters from members of the public, complaining about corruption, have been published on the Kremlin website. Reporting on the results at St. Petersburg, the daily Kommersant said that 83 out of 200 students in the law faculty had failed their state examinations. Some who had received grade 2, the lowest mark, had been expecting to leave with "red diplomas" or distinctions. Among those who failed were students who had paid fees.

At least seven students died and 39 were injured when their university building was caught on fire. The accident occurred because the university, short of money, had rented out the building's lower three floors as office space, blocking the fire exits. As the chief of fire control of the Russian Federation Ministry of Emergency Situation, declared, the university lacked fire alarms, so the emergency services were notified too late.

To reduce the use of bribes, the parliament has approved a nationwide, standardized multiple choice test for high school seniors. This would substitute for written and oral admission exams that now leave room for subjective grading – and bribes. The testing requirement is expected to come into force in 2009.