EN
Corruption has become a major global problem. Proponents of the “good corruption” thesis believe that in certain conditions corruption can be conducive to economic and political development. To them, corruption is “grease” that lubricates the rigid wheels of the bureaucratic machine, and is a legitimate mechanizm of political inclusion of the excluded masses. Yet, empirical analysis of the positive functions of corruption in the Soviet Union, the United States of America and certain Asian countries revealed that corruption is first and foremost a symptom of political and economic system dysfunction. One can speak of the positive functions of corruption only in the context of the system’s serious malfunction concerning the fulfillment of the society’s expectations coupled with the lack of prospects for this system’s reform.