Officials of the administration of the governor and the government of the Ulyanovsk region will from now on will be regularly checked on the polygraph for corruption, links with criminal communities and extremism. The corresponding resolution was issued by the Governor Sergey Morozov. Experts believe that corruption can not be fought with a polygraph.

The Ulyanovsk Governor Sergey Morozov signed a decree "On Psychophysiological Testing Using Polygraphs" to enhance the effectiveness of countering corruption. The document is posted on the website of the regional government. This is the second decision of the governor to conduct checks on the polygraph. The first was in 2013, but since then nothing has been reported about the effectiveness of the checks. In May 2016, Sergey Morozov said that "in the struggle for investment, the one who will be able to achieve real results in anti-corruption activities will win", promising that he would introduce a personnel audit of all officials using polygraph.

According to the approved document, the psychophysiological testing of officials will be performed during employment, as well as in the form of regular monitoring "in order to identify risk factors." Risk factors are understood as "facts of corruption offenses, the existence of links with criminal communities, participation in extremist organizations, religious and public associations of a destructive type, facts of abuse of office."

Unlike the previous order for the use of a polygraph this time, the list of those who will be subject to verification is much wider - from the heads of departments of the regional government to the level of the chairman of the government and the governor, as well as the heads of regional government agencies and institutions, and a number of other officials. Testing is carried out voluntarily, with the written consent of the official, who "has the right at any time to refuse to pass the test", having issued a refusal in writing specifying the reasons. At the same time, the refusal "is not considered as confirmation of the presence of the facts of risk", and compulsion to pass the test is not allowed. The types of reasons for refusal are listed in the standard consent form for the passage of the test, among them - mental exhaustion, pregnancy, alcohol consumption less than 48 hours before the test.

The author of the document, the head of the department for civil service and cadres of the administration of the governor Alexander Ryabokon told Kommersant that "there can be any reasons" and "no one has the right to force", but at a meeting of the cadre or interdepartmental commission "this fact can be taken into account, but can also be ignored", lthough it still can not be the reason for refusing a job. He noted that in case of suspicion of corruption, criminal or extremist links, information about this will be transmitted to law enforcement agencies, "but without sharp movements, until nothing is proved," "no one will be dismissed on this basis", "although the head will be notified. " According to him, since 2013, inspections on polygraph officials have taken place, "but this experience is not voiced."

The checks will begin on April 1. The first to undergo them are officials associated with public procurement. Mr. Ryabokon believes that polygraph tests will be a good additional tool in the fight against corruption, "especially in the field of public procurement." Member of the Public Chamber of Russia, Doctor of Political Sciences Nina Dergunova believes that "the polygraph is good for simple schemes, and it is unlikely to reveal serious multi-stage corruption schemes."