The discussion took the form of a stress test during the Summer Expert Meetings, bringing together specialists from a wide range of fields, including contributors to the Open Dialogue essay competition.

The Motherland begins with far more than a birthplace recorded on a birth certificate, believes Yury Trutnev.

The fairy tales we heard as children, our grandmothers' songs, lively kolyadki (carols), round dances, traditional crafts and timeless proverbs passed down from generation to generation.