Highlighting the problem of corruption in Russia, Alexander Karpov, the deputy head of the Russian Supreme Court, has resigned days after his son, Vladimir, who he claims not to have seen in five years, was arrested for taking a $28,000 bribe from a suspect about to stand trial. A court spokesman told the BBC that the resignation was a matter of “judicial etiquette.”

Karpov’s resignation comes on the same day President Dmitry Medvedev fired four governors from regions hit especially hard by the financial crisis. Today, The Financial Times speculates that the sackings may have been linked to another corruption investigation.

“Sergei Markov, a member of the Kremlin’s ruling United Russia party, said that the sackings may have also been connected to anti- corruption probes and could usher in further dismissals right up to cabinet level. ‘In this situation we need to make sure that government funds get to the real sector and are not stolen along the way.'”