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Number of convicted persons with higher education is increasing in Russia

Statistics contradict the popular opinion that visitors to Russia are responsible for a high crime rate

Russian countryside leads major cities and regional capitals put all together in terms of the rate of murders and rapes, according to a report released by the Judicial Department under the Russian Supreme Court, the pro-government Rossiiskaya Gazeta writes.

The social pattern of crime is thus: the countryside beats all records. One-third of solved serious crimes occurred in rural areas. Of the 28 people who have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the past six months, ten lived in the country.

Statistics contradict the popular opinion that visitors to Russia are responsible for a high crime rate. Not by a long shot: a majority of the defendants in cities and villages were local residents, not foreigners.

Here are some figures: there are 37.5 million people living in rural areas in Russia, versus 105 million living in towns. The number of those convicted for murder in the countryside in the past six months is 20,518 versus 16,537 who were convicted in regional centers for the similar crime. In all, 39,000 people were given prison sentences for murder in large cites (including regional capitals) and small towns in the designated period.

In a new trend, the number of convicts with higher education has begun to increase. Their number has reached 27,258 in the past six months. Educated people tend to commit fewer cruel crimes. For example, just 221 people with higher or incomplete higher education were punished for murder. In general, educated people often give bribes or engage in fraud. Five hundred and ninety-one people with higher education or incomplete higher education were convicted for bribery. The number of educated people caught taking bribe is not large. Courts passed sentences on 225 graduates and students for giving bribes. Five hundred and seventy-two people with general secondary education were caught trying to bribe officials.