The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It was named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the club’s first meeting took place. The club’s goal is to promote dialogue between Russian and international intellectual elite, and to make an independent, unbiased scientific analysis of political, economic and social events in Russia and the rest of the world.| Valdai Club
The Helsinki Final Act does not enjoy now the limelight in the public interest it used to attract in the seventies and the eighties. Some circles even think the usefulness of the document and its offsprings has come to an end. A perfunctory look at the realities of 21st century Europe, as shown from daily events and news, should suffice to support the opposite view. After all, the Helsinki Final Act from its very beginning states the common objective of “promoting better relations among the...| russiancouncil.ru
Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club; expert in international relations and journalist based in Moscow| Valdai Club