Russia to fire more than 100,000 civil servants

Sep 20, 2010, 20:33 GMT

Moscow - The Russian government is planning to fire at least 100,000 civil servants in order to save 43 billion rubles (about 1.4 billion dollars) by 2013.

The high number of public employees was an obstacle to efforts to modernize the country, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday at a meeting with Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, the news wire Interfax reported.

However, observers also see the planned cuts as an attempt by Medvedev to increase his influence ahead of the 2012 presidential elections. Russia's scores of civil servants are generally considered an important power base for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

According to Kudrin, the number of civil servants across the country has risen by 130,000 since 2006, leaving the state machinery bloated and ineffective.

About 510,000 officials alone were working for the state and the judiciary, another 420,000 for the police, Kudrin said. About one fifth of all jobs would be cut over the next few years and there would be a freeze on new recruitment, he added.

'The budget does not allow for any other measures,' the finance minister said. Ahead of Monday's move, Russia's public postal service had already announced it would cut at least 33,000 of its 415,000- strong workforce.