Participants of the 7th Valdai Club Meeting have launched a new Valdai Index project aimed at measuring Russia's economic, social and political development.
The Valdai Club experts will fill out questionnaires to define the quality levels of Russia's progress or regress in most essential spheres.
For example, Russia's political system will have the following assessment criteria: opposition activity, efficiency of state institutions, stability in the country, influence of civil society, transparency of electoral system and independence of the judicial branch and others.
"The most involved people who receive the most reliable information about Russia get together in the club because the straightest talk about our country is held here," said Sergei Karaganov, president of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy.
He said the new project would be a source of information about the situation in the country and could become widely used both in Russia and abroad.
The 7th Valdai Club Meeting, an expert forum for international specialists on Russia, headlined "Russia: History and Future Development," opened on August 31 and runs through September 7 onboard the Kronstadt cruise ship in northwestern Russia.
The discussion brings together prominent experts on Russia from 15 European countries, the United States and Asia, but they have so failed to reach a common position on whether Russia should choose Europe or Asia as its main partner.
RIA Novosti, the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, Russia Profile and Russia in Global Affairs magazines and The Moscow News newspaper have been holding annual meetings of the Valdai Discussion Club since 2004. The club's mission is to create an international venue where leading experts on Russia can receive trusted and competent information on the country from top federal and regional officials.
LENINGRAD REGION, September 3 (RIA Novosti)
