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![[AP]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Alexei-Navalny-300x169.jpg)
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny rose to prominence on the back of a campaign against corruption in the political elite [AP]
The new department will be responsible for monitoring current anti-corruption laws and suggesting legislative changes to counter corruption, the Kremlin said.
The Russian leader has appointed Oleg Plokhoi as the head of the anti-corruption department. Plokhoi used to work in the Kremlin’s personnel department.
Russia is perceived to be one of the most corrupt of the world’s leading economies in a recent survey conducted by Transparency International (TI).
Seventy-seven per cent of respondents in Russia felt that political parties were corrupt or extremely corrupt and 83 per cent of respondents felt that Parliament was corrupt or extremely corrupt, according to the watchdog.
Despite a recent high profile anti-corruption drive, government officials still admit that billions of dollars are paid in bribes in Russia every year and that graft remains prevalent.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny rose to prominence on the back of a campaign against corruption in the political elite that earned him significant popular support.
Navalny was at the forefront of anti-Putin protests in 2011 and 2012 and was the runner-up in Moscow mayoral elections earlier this year.
Russia’s presidential administration already has an anti-corruption council, which is chaired by President Putin and attended by top government ministers and senior security officials.
Plokhoi’s new position will require him to work with that council, added the Kremlin.
Source: Agencies
