He’s a brave, suave, moral crusader who’s always ready to fight crime, protect the innocent, and uphold justice . . . no, no, that’s someone else. Belonging to one of Russia’s most mistrusted institutions (and the country has plenty of those) Russian Policeman is usually, with some justification I might add, stereotyped as a rude, indifferent, bribable and often violent miscreant.
The Interior Ministry is showing willing, though. Emphasis on ‘showing’. According to the Russian Gazette, a series of rules are coming into force to help improve Russian Policeman’s image. Police academies, which, incidentally, accept pretty much anyone who can pass or fail a breath test, will now have to coach officers in the art of first aid (bandaging the wounded, saving someone from electric shock, etc), teach them how to save a drowning person, train them to operate construction machinery (eh?), and make them learn the national anthem and police anti-corruption rules off by heart. Holding a drunken hooligan (alive and unharmed) will also form part of the schooling . . . .
