The second day of the Valdai Club Annual meeting on October 16 began with a session that was dedicated to traditions, their place in the future and national identity.
Speakers (among them – Natalia Solzhenitsyna, well-known public figure, Vladimir Medinsky, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Bogomolov, director of the Lenkom Theater) recalled and gladly quoted Dostoevsky, Tyutchev, Pushkin, discussed the problem of freedom of speech in Russia and in the West, and also talked about patriotism, which must be "sighted".
The next (third) session was also devoted to culture, but on the dialogue of experts turned into a more political mainstream: cultural policy - is it necessary?
In the afternoon two special sessions were held. During the session on the Middle East experts outlined the contours of peace in the region. At the Eurasian session, they presented the development prospects and named the security problems of the Eurasian region.
Between the sessions, the participants met with the Colonel-General Alexander Fomin, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Read more about the second day of the Valdai forum in our analytical summary "Totalitarianism of Love: How Not to Get Lost in a Changing World".
We remind you that the Valdai Club Annual meeting will last four days - from October 15 to October 18. Most of the sessions will traditionally follow the Chatham House rules, which presumes the anonymity of all discussions. But this does not mean that no one will know the conclusions reached by the experts. First, we will prepare for our readers analytical summaries on the results of the day. Second, the most interesting discussions are open. You can watch the broadcasts of these sessions in real time on our website, and see the schedule in out Programme.