Esther M. Lederberg
New Chinovnik, by V. Perov

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A chinovnik of low level, like this chinovnik of level 15 (first grade, lowest), brings to mind the story "The Overcoat", by Gogol.

Low level chinovniki often were barely literate, and functioned by never questioning, always doing things precisely as they have always been done. If there was a new or unusual difference in what the chinovnik had to do, it was better not to do it at all. Thus bureaucratic "red tape", and bribery! See: "Provincial Sketches", by Mikhail Saltykov (Shchedrin).

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