Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday the government's effort to fight corruption should not be a one-off campaign but a consistent policy.

To uproot corruption, every offender must be aware that they would never escape punishment, Putin told a meeting with his supporters.

Meanwhile, the fight must be conducted not only at high levels, but also on the streets and throughout society, he said.

However, there should be no rush to convict, otherwise the country "will slide back to 1937," Putin warned, referring to the year of massive political purges in the Soviet Union.

"It is impossible for courts to make rulings and sentence people without sufficient evidence," he said.

Law enforcement agencies must abide by the law themselves when investigating corruption-related crimes, even though these cases were often hard to prove, Putin said.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also vowed earlier to fight corruption in all tiers of the society, from authorities to grassroots.