Lawmakers Push to Set up Public Chambers throughout Russia’s Far East

KHABAROVSK. August 25. VOSTOK-MEDIA – Members of the Public Chamber attached to the presidential envy to the Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District are seeking to establish public chambers in all the regions of the Russian Far East.

The meeting on development of civil society institutions was attended by Natalya Gryzlova, a member of the Public Chamber, Deputy presidential envoy to Russia’s Far East Sergei Levkov, and other officials.

The participants in the meeting said that establishment of public chambers is particularly important today for the development of civil society. The Public Chamber of the Russian Federation operates since 2005 and local public chambers have been set up in 54 Russian regions. Today, Amur Region Public Chamber is the only public chamber in the Far Eastern Federal District, which has been set up and is operating in accordance with Federal Law “On Public Chamber in the Russian Federation”, whereas in the other Far Eastern regions the cooperation between authorities and civil society is carried out through collegiate advisory bodies.

The participants in the meeting were unanimous in their opinion that it is crucial to create regional public chambers as soon as possible. At the meeting, some lawmakers came forth with an initiative to set the ball rolling in those regions where this process has not yet started and to speed up establishment of public chambers in others.

Officials say that the most challenging problem in setting up local public chambers is to determine how many members a chamber should have, as well as the procedure of setting up chambers and funding sources.

Sergei Levkov pointed out that regional public chambers serve not only as venues for discussing various issues, but also provide an opportunity for greater interaction between authorities and citizens when addressing social, economic and political problems. Regional public chambers help to promote major community development initiatives, he said.