After the prime minister's meeting with representatives of different religions and ethnic and public organisations, held under the auspices of the Popular Front on July 19, 2011, Vladimir Putin approved the creation of a Government Executive Office department to coordinate executive authorities' actions in the field of inter-ethnic relations.
Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff of the Government Executive Office Vyacheslav Volodin signed an order implementing this resolution, specifying that a department for inter-ethnic relations be established at the Department for Culture.
The department will primarily be involved in implementing government policy regarding inter-ethnic relations, improving the organisational and legal bases for inter-ethnic relations and analysing the state of inter-ethnic relations in Russia's regions. It will also perform an array of other functions and duties.