The Center for Anti-Corruption Research and Initiative Transparency International-Russia (Center TI-R) is a nonprofit public organization aiming to create a unified national anti-corruption system to help achieve three sets of goals:

- shape anti-corruption ideology and legal awareness among citizens;
- institutionalize transparency;
- prevent corruption by ensuring effective anti-corruption mechanisms.

Center TI-R acts on the premise that society plays a key role in fighting corruption in the broadest sense, and ensuring the transparency and accountability of government agencies.

Corruption, as defined by Center TI-R, is a complex phenomenon associated with the use of public office for private gain (bribery, fraud, embezzlement, favoritism and nepotism).

Transparency and accountability are defined as a system of effective public oversight mechanisms and public access to information on government agency performance. 

Today, it is fairly obvious that the government, media, oversight institutions, and legal institutions cannot effectively combat corruption in Russia. 
Expectations that the executive branch (by definition, the subject of corruption) can itself cope with corruption using oversight and enforcement mechanisms have failed to materialize. The media and legal institutions are forced to act within the existing legal framework and practice.

Theoretically, the legislative branch is the only institution that could influence the situation, change the corrupt environment, and create the framework conditions for transparency.

In a democracy, the public, that is the voters, have sufficient means, leverage, and most importantly, inalienable rights, to enforce the execution of these anti-corruption functions by the legislative branch. Therefore, civil society can and should be the driving force for the creation of a unified anti-corruption system by engaging the representatives of the executive and legislative branches, judicial system, and the media in dialogue and cooperation.

Center TI-R assumes the task of mobilizing society to achieve this goal.

First of all, Center TI-R strives to follow the principles of full transparency in its own activities (competitive bidding procedures; broad public access to information on the center’s activities, financial records, and staffing policy, code of ethics) to promote a transparency standard. In addition, Center TI-R plans its activities to cover the three sets of goals mentioned above.   

Each set includes specific programs and projects implemented directly by Center TI-R, as well as in partnership with national and international organizations.

Whenever possible, Center TI-R seeks to coordinate programs and projects implemented by various organizations and groups to maximize efficiency and avoid redundancy.