A brief survey of the fight against corruption in the Russian and Ottoman Empire in the first half of the 19th century

pages: 160-171

Abstract

For the Russian and Turkish Empire the nineteenth century is the period of adopting reform laws to modernize the country in order to be competitive in the course of time. Although the reform process in Russia was obstructed by the Arakcheyev regime and reactionary politics of Nicholas I of Russia, the government made a serious step in the fight against systemic corruption, enacting the Criminal Code of 1845. On the other hand, Turkey was undoubtedly under considerable foreign pressure concerning modernization processes. The Tanzimat period represents a significant epoch in which Turkey, among other countries, was faced with widespread corruption. The crown success of reformatory work in Turkey was adoption of the Criminal Code of 1856. This paper analyzes the specific laws which sanctioned corruption in these two empires. Keywords: corruption, Russia, the Arakchryev regime, Turkey, Tanzimat, reforms, 19th century