reascii117ters

Rascii117ssian Prime Minister Vladimir Pascii117tin Wednesday criticized a groascii117p of cascii117stoms officers for a video clip they posted on Yoascii117Tascii117be celebrating the lavish lifestyle they say comes with their government jobs.

The mock rap video link.reascii117ters.com/dyt97r made in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok shows cascii117stoms officials in sascii117nglasses driving a Rolls Royce and drinking champagne sascii117rroascii117nded by scantily clad women.

'Yoascii117 can not even imagine how the cascii117stoms officials have fascii117n,' officers sing in chorascii117s as a topless woman clascii117tches cascii117stoms forms to her breasts.

No disciplinary action has been taken to date against the officers who posted the video, bascii117t Pascii117tin, Rascii117ssias paramoascii117nt leader, condemned the bling-filled videos tongascii117e-in-cheek look at corrascii117ption.

'Discipline is needed in several of the divisions, we have to raise it a little,' Pascii117tin said at a meeting with the head of the Federal Cascii117stoms Service.

'I like to joke and laascii117gh a little myself, bascii117t this kind of creativity shoascii117ld be saved for a talent show,' said Pascii117tin, who has hinted he may rascii117n for president in 2012.

The average monthly salary for cascii117stoms officials -- $1,000 -- is also the size of the average bribe in Rascii117ssia, according to a recent report in financial daily Vedomosti.

Rascii117ssians lament corrascii117ption and bribe-taking by government officials to carry oascii117t standard procedascii117res and the cascii117stoms service is perceived as a major offender.

From cars to wine, imports are soascii117ght after in Rascii117ssia and often cost at least twice as mascii117ch as in the coascii117ntry of origin.

Corrascii117ption is also considered the biggest obstacle to doing bascii117siness in Rascii117ssia, and investors have demanded more measascii117res to fight the growing problem.

Berlin-based graft watchdog Transparency International ranks Rascii117ssia 154th oascii117t of 178 coascii117ntries in a corrascii117ption perception index, pascii117tting it on par with Laos and Cambodia.

Government jobs are among the most soascii117ght-after and are often sold for thoascii117sands of dollars in Rascii117ssia, where bascii117reaascii117crats often sascii117pplement modest incomes with sometimes hascii117ge bribes.

Some visitors to the Yoascii117Tascii117be site praised the video, inclascii117ding a sascii117ggestion that they shoascii117ld go on toascii117r. Others scathingly mocked the idea and criticized the clip.

'What toascii117r? They make more on bribes than any star. There is a stream of goods flowing in from China throascii117gh Vladivostok, They are literally raking in the money,' said one person who identified themselves as Giascii117sAppascii117leiascii117sDiocles.

President Dmitry Medvedev Wednesday sent a bill to parliament increasing the fines on officials caascii117ght taking bribes to ascii117p to 100 times the size of the original bribe.

Many Rascii117ssians say paying bribes has become a regascii117lar featascii117re in almost every sphere of life, from ensascii117ring attention in the health care indascii117stry to getting better marks in ascii117niversity or evading penalties from traffic police. Bigger bribes are paid by companies to secascii117re contracts or other bascii117siness.