No More Shortski Skirts

Russian MPs and their aides will soon have to follow a new ethics code forbidding miniskirts and indiscreet behaviour that may tarnish the image of parliament, a report has said.

The so-called Code of Ethics impacts everyone working in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, including deputies and their staff members, the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily reported.  The code recommends a "business style marked by formality, restraint, tradition, and neatness", which might spell the end of miniskirts and low-cut blouses for many parliamentary assistants, the paper mused.

Duma workers will also have to minimise contact with journalists, directing all work-related questions to the press service, though in a "polite" manner, and when speaking to each other, they will have to refrain from all "rudeness" and "arrogance", the guidelines prepared on the orders of the president's anti-corruption committee said.

And their beer is now also classified as alcohol?   It's turning tough for our Russian cousins.