Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and Trade believes that Russian officials are supposed to ride domestic, rather than foreign cars. Now the ministry is attempting to limit officials choice of elite cars and put a cap on the quantity of cars bought up by members of the government. It has been noted in the department that foreign cars should only be ridden by high-up government officials, and those under state protection.
Aleksandr Brod, legal expert and Head of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights.
"I believe that Russian officials are supposed to be down to earth. I think this is a correct initiative -- let them ride Russian vehicles and see the quality of the Russian car industry. Maybe they will think about how to improve this quality".
Previously, the ministry chaired by Elvira Nabiulina would describe such initiatives as populist. However, after Vladimir Putin's initiative on the introduction of taxes on luxuries, the position has been altered. The idea of replacing officials' luxury vehicles with home-grown cars is not new, however it has not been successfully implemented for many years. And so the government's spending on expensive foreign cars has long been a cause for contention amongst those fighting against corruption and seeking its exposure.
Sergei Aslanyan, independent automobile expert:
"It is strange when a ministry dictates such issues, because it is not up for ministries to solve such question. Officials simply follow the general rules. This is what they can have when they serve on their positions. It's really strange that some of those officials start setting the rules for their own behavior".
In 1997, Boris Nemtsov, at the time serving as the first Vice President of the government, suggested battling against such privileges and called for officials to exchange their Mercedes' for home-grown Volgas. Subsequently Nemtsov had declared that this idea was not successfully implemented, since Boris Yeltsin was seen riding a Mercedes, a habit which he did not want to give up.
