Interfax: Kudrin denies plans to set up his own party

YEKATERINBURG. Nov 26 (Interfax) – Former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who today heads the Civil Initiatives Committee, has denied any immediate plans to establish his own party.

“I have no plans to set up a party,” Kudrin said at an Interfax press conference in Yekaterinburg on Tuesday, after being asked about his short-term plans, including whether or not he was going to form his own party.

A key problem that faces Russia today is the absence of mechanisms that would allow society to contribute to efforts to achieve major goals of the country’s development, he said.

“The absence of such discussions, of such a culture in our country, harms the efficiency of the authorities’ work and the use of certain means, eventually acting as a brake on economic growth,” Kudrin said.

Russians need to know what is happening in their country and should not be indifferent to the government’s policies, the ex-minister said.