President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon, Gennady Andreyevich!
I would like to discuss one question with you now, and after that we can of course take up any other subject you’re interested in.
As you know, we are now involved in preparing legislation to deal with corruption. This is to fulfil our international obligations, but in fact we have agreed that what is most important is that a National Plan be prepared.
Now the President’s Council [for Combating Corruption] has formed a working group that is preparing a National Anti-Corruption Plan. It is also preparing legislation designed to strengthen the judicial institutions in our country.
Your party is the second-largest faction in the State Duma. It is a well-respected faction and you have your own ideas on these matters. Therefore, it seems to me very important that you should take part in this process.
chairman of the Central Committee of the Cprf Gennady Zyuganov: This is a very important topic, Dmitry Anatolyevich!
I completely agree with you, because the law simply won’t work if corruption is allowed to flourish in the country. We are therefore actively involved in this issue and believe that it is a crucial one.
We have very good lawyers and specialists who have been involved in this matter. By the way, one CPRF deputy, Viktor Ivanovich Ilyukhin prepared a law on combating corruption five years ago, and it was presented to the Duma a number of times. It seemed too rigid to some. We are ready to work with the group, and I think that the sooner we come up with the relevant legislation, the better.
Dmitry Medvedev: Now there is no time to waste: it’s time to draft this legislation. We all know what is needed there, but there are judicial and economic nuances that still need to be discussed. In this sense, I think the position of the Communist Party, the position of your colleagues should also be taken into account.
Gennady Zyuganov: I have just returned from the North Caucasus. We have a tradition: every year we hold a meeting of all active members of the CPRF in the North Caucasus. A thousand people gathered in Vladikavkaz, and they came from all over: from Makhachkala to the Kuban, from Rostov to Astrakhan.
And one of the major themes was precisely the fight against corruption. I think the representatives of the CPRF have many interesting ideas and we are ready to work actively with you in this area.