Members of Russia's Public Chamber will meet with President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday to discuss corruption, law enforcement reform and interethnic issues.
The Berlin-based non-governmental anti-corruption organization Transparency International has persistently rated Russia one of the most corrupt nations in the world. In the 2010 Corruption Perception Index, Russia was ranked 154th of 178, below countries like Kenya, Laos and Papua New Guinea.
Medvedev, who announced the fight against corruption as a priority for him on the post of the country's leader, admitted in 2010 that the anti-corruption drive had so far yielded few practical results.
In July 2010, Medvedev signed five laws on the work of Russia's police but said new legislation was still needed as part of ongoing reforms aimed, in particular, at eradicating corruption in law enforcement bodies, whose conduct has become a great concern after a number of high-profile police scandals.
Interethnic problems came to the foreground in December, when Spartak Moscow football fan Sviridov was shot dead in a brawl with migrants from Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus region.
The incident sparked race-hate riots and ethnic clashes across Russia in December, including a brawl between over 5,000 football supporters and police outside the Kremlin walls.
MOSCOW, January 20 (RIA Novosti)
