MOSCOW, April 2 - RAPSI. The government will protect individuals who expose corruption, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov told journalists on Tuesday while commenting on a presidential decree designed to promote the law on corruption.

Ivanov said the decree "has a special clause on the government's actions to protect those individuals who report corruption."  However, whistleblowers will only be protected if they are persecuted or pressured, or if a defamation lawsuit is filed against them.

The government will also provide free legal assistance to these individuals.  Ivanov noted that whistleblowers will not escape responsibility for their own offenses, such as bribing an official.  Anonymous corruption reports also will not be accepted.

According to the president's website, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on measures to promote the law on corruption on April 2.  Russia consistently hovers around 150th place in the Berlin-based NGO Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.