Anniversary "Valdai" to search for Russian national idea

"Diversity of Russia for the modern world" is the subject of the anniversary conference of the International discussion club "Valdai", which turns 10 years old in 2013. The conference will be held from September 16 to 19 in the Novgorod region, where the club had its first meeting in 2003. Experts will discuss all aspects of Russian national identity and try to build a vision for the future of the country as a strong and successful state in a highly competitive world.

The members of the club, the editor-in-chief of RIA Novosti, Svetlana Myronyuk, the Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Politics of the HSE, Sergey Karaganov and the president and founder of the Center for Global Interests, Nikolai Zlobin, talked today about the agenda of the anniversary meeting and its key participants.

Zlobin noted that among others the meeting will be attended by ex- ministers of defense and foreign affairs of Germany.

Sergei Karaganov pointed out that the main aim of " Valdai" has never been to change Russia's politics, but its mentality. He also told Vestnik Kavkaza that it is very important to find a national idea for Russia, since “Russia can no longer develop, we are clearly at an impasse, and we can no longer develop without a definition of who we are and where we want to go.”

Karganov said that the discussion will begin with a look at the challenges and opportunities posed by the world to Russia. "We have to decide what threatens us,” he said.
A special session during the meeting will be devoted to the problems of multiethnic Russia. Karganov said that in his view multi-ethnicity is part of the genetic code of Russia and that only by being multinational will Russians remain Russian.