II Expert Forum

What makes our forum truly special is its unpredictability: how the conversation unfolds depends entirely on the participants themselves. Which questions will they find most pressing? Will one group’s ideas shape another’s thinking? We don’t know in advance— and we don’t try to influence the discussion. That’s exactly what makes it so engaging.

My plan was to create a space where leading experts from diverse fields could come together for a serious discourse — and I’m glad to see that it is working. In Russian politics, open dialogue and the ability to really listen are in short supply. This is why I wanted to bring these brilliant minds into one room and give them the freedom to explore, debate, and build better strategies together. No one understands how to save the Russian economy better than economists — but they have differing views and approaches. It’s only through open, unrestricted discussion that we can move towards a solution.

The documents below reflect a work in progress and mark a midway point in the experts’ work. It’s too early to call this a political programme; much discussion still lies ahead, and many ideas will continue to evolve. But this is an important step forward on the path to Russia’s future, and I’m proud we’ve taken it.

Discussions about how a democratic Russia should be built — and the development of proposals that grow out of those discussions — are crucial both for the future, when the opportunity to rebuild the country arises, and for the present, as society needs a clear and positive vision of what that future could look like. No one has a monopoly on these conversations or ideas. On the contrary, diverse proposals enrich one another — and even when there are competing approaches, it only contributes to a better outcome.

There is no future without a vision of the future. Without a strategy and clear reference points, it’s hard to set goals that are even remotely achievable. And without conversation, debate, and networking, projects — including charity projects — don’t happen.

I stopped overestimating the value of forums a long time ago. But we shouldn’t underestimate them either. I stopped overestimating the value of forums a long time ago. But we shouldn’t underestimate them either. In an atomised world, where ties between people are weakened, the shape of the future depends largely on which of those connections we manage to preserve or strengthen — and those which we don’t.

Life is not over. Meaning is still being created. Political imagination must keep evolving. And people still need one other.