Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the formation of the Council for Ethnic Relations to improve state policy for ethnic relations. The council will coordinate the interaction of federal structures and regional structures of power, local autonomies, public associations, science and other groups, the Kremlin press service reports.
The council will be under the supervision of the deputy head of the Presidential Administration, Vyacheslav Volodin.
The council is being formed according to the president’s decree on inter-ethnic consent signed on May 7. The administration was ordered to prepare proposals on forming the council by June 1 and approve the strategy of ethnic policy by December 1.
The Ministry for Regional Development and the the department for domestic policy prepared the basic functions of the council. Putin said in an article published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta on June 23, 2012, that a special structure for ethnic relations was needed.
Vladimir Putin was expected to be the head of the council. Dmitry Kozak, Vice Premier in charge of the inter-department commission coordinating ministries and other structures in realizing ethnic policy, was expected to be his deputy. Thus, the disputes over formation of the Ministry for Ethnicitt has been resolved.
