An App Tries To Track The Epic Corruption And Bribery In Russia

Bribr lets Russians log when and where they are asked to give bribes to government officials, in situations ranging from court cases to--no joke--kindergarten admissions. In countries where corruption and bribery are a regular part of daily life, part of the is that no one speaks up about particular incidents--which makes its hard to document, measure, and, ultimately, eradicate. A new app called Bribr raises awareness about corruption in the bureaucratic complex of mother Russia--which ties with East Timor to rank 143 out 183 on Transparency International’s corruption index--by providing a platform to let citizens anonymously map out how much money they spent on a bribe, where, and for what. Since September 24, users have documented 5,065,851 rubles (about $159,970) worth of bribes, paid everywhere from fire departments, to courts, to that unexpected den of corruption: kinde...