Putin 'earns more than Medvedev'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7988167.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin earns 11% more than President Dmitry Medvedev, statements released as part of an anti-corruption drive show.

Mr Putin earned 4.6m roubles ($137,000; £93,000) in 2008. His assets included a large plot of land and a share in a garage "equivalent to a car space".

Mr Medvedev meanwhile took home 4.14m roubles and co-owns a Moscow apartment of almost 400 sq m (4,300 sq ft).

Senior officials have been forced to disclose their income since December.

But the new legislation does not force Russian bureaucrats to disclose the income of any grown-up children or relatives. No agency has been tasked with establishing whether the declarations are true.

Russia is among the countries which have not signed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's convention against bribery and is frequently criticised by anti-corruption watchdogs.

Critics of Mr Putin have accused him of being one of Russia's richest men, but declarations of his wealth published on the prime minister's website on Monday suggest he is of more modest means.

The income from his principal employment during 2008 totalled 4.6m roubles, while his military pension amounted to 100,600 roubles. The declaration also showed he owned an apartment of 77 sq m in St Petersburg, a garage, two classic cars and a trailer.

Though he earns less, Mr Medvedev has a much larger apartment - a 368 sq m residence in Moscow, which he owns jointly with his wife, Svetlana. They also have bank deposits totalling just less than 3m roubles and 4,700 sq m of land.

Mrs Medvedev also owns a Volkswagen Golf and two parking places.