Few are likely to dispute Medvedev's comments on the need for Russia to prioritize governance issues.

Russia ranked 133 out of 174 in Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Ahead of the World Economic Forum, the non-governmental group's chairwoman, Huguette Labelle, called on countries and businesses to change the way they work, for everybody's sake.

"Future prosperity will always be undermined by corruption, excessive risk-taking, a lack of transparency and other unethical practices," she warned.

Pavel Khodorkovsky, the son of jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and president of the U.S.-based Institute of Modern Russia, also wrote an open letter to those at the World Economic Forum in which he highlighted the plight of his father.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who backed an opposition party, has been in jail since 2003 and was convicted in 2005 on charges of tax evasion and fraud. Russia has faced wide criticism over his treatment, with the United States and others accusing it of "selective prosecution" and abuse of the legal system.

His son, in his letter to policymakers at Davos, called on them to raise the issue of the former Yukos chief executive's continued imprisonment and urge support for the rule of law in Russia.

"Ending corruption is not just a human rights issue," Pavel Khodorkovsky said. "The proliferation of corruption remains a huge impediment to direct foreign investment.

"Both U.S. and Russian officials have publicly acknowledged Russia's weak property rights and rampant corruption are reasons to avoid doing business in Russia. This is thwarting job creation and starving Russian businesses of the capital they need to grow."

Medvedev's comments come amid frosty relations with the United States after Putin signed a law in December prohibiting Americans from adopting Russian children.

The move by Russian politicians was widely seen as retaliation for a law that U.S. President Barack Obama signed December 14. That bill, called the Magnitsky Act, imposes U.S. travel and financial restrictions on those it considers human rights abusers in Russia.