The Valdai Club, organized by RIA Novosti in concert with the Council on foreign and defense policy, as well as The Moscow Times, Russia in Global Affairs, and Russia Profile, unites leading political scientists, Russian experts, and heads of major foreign policy and research centers.
The club's Monday session will be entitled: Russia - between the East and the West, Russia after 2008: models for development.
The Tuesday discussion will focus on The World of the 21st century: the return of religion?
About 70 political scientists, experts and well-known journalists from Russia, the United States, the U.K., Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovakia, Austria, Japan, China, Brazil, and Canada will take part in the discussion.
The president of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiyev, and the Mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin, as well as the republic's religious figures will attend the meeting.
