MOSCOW, January 12 - RAPSI. Russian prosecutors have made almost 50,000 officials accountable for corruption in 2011, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said on Thursday.

Chaika noted that as a follow-up to supervisory checks, prosecutors initiated almost 4,000 criminal cases on corruption charges.

"In total, over 8,000 criminal cases were referred to court and more than 7,000 individuals were convicted last year," he said.

According to Transparency International, the level of corruption in Russia has dropped in the past year, but remains high. The Corruption Perception Index in 2011 placed Russia 143rd with 2.4 points among 182 countries. Azerbaijan, Belarus, Comoro Islands, Mauritania, East Timor and Togo had the same result. In 2010, Russia was 154th with 2.1 points.