"Mikhalkov Junior said he wholeheartedly believes that Russia is sacred, great and unique – so much so that conventional forms of government would not fit it." I tend to agree with him. Russia, seems, the only country in the world which during its entire history couldn't find proper government structure and political/ideological organization which fits it well. At least, which would last for a century or so and everybody would be happy with. Its path -- from revolution to revolution, from one system to another. This is the place, were political tornado/hurricanes are regular things... Also, I agree with him that the Western type democracy will not work in Russia neither today nor in near future. Though, I would consider his call for conservatism as a path the the dead end as well. Any attempt to frame unbound and "undisciplined" Russian mind will cause the appropriate reaction. I think, one of biggest problem with many Russian politicians and advisers (especially with the Western background) -- they see Russia as a homogenous country. While the reality -- it is not. It is a collection of pretty distinctive cultures and national groups, which are united primarily for security reasons. Russia is more heterogeneous than any place in the world. More than the US, more than entire Europe. So far, the Soviet System was the best fit for Russia. Yet, it was not good enough to keep it stable. So, I think, for Russia -- as a country which is located on the crossroads of different worlds -- the search for the best System is far from being over. And any homogenous paradigm doom to fail...

The positive attitude to the country comes from its achievements and not just desires of its people to be seen this way. Germany or Japan are respected because they created themselves who they are today. China is gaining such respect for the same reasons. The USSR was respected because it managed to transform itself from the ruined country (1920) to the status of superpower. When modern Russia have something which will cause others to stop and look at it, then it will be respected and have positive image. Self-drawing "positive image" is the behavior of the frog, who blows itself to look bigger than it is... Regarding Mikhalkov's definition of conservatism. Even on the surface, it shows its problems. a) "love God". What is God? It is an old man in the clouds or some abstraction which we, humans, cannot comprehend? And because nobody yet saw God, "loving God" means "loving some ideas". But, then how it is different from loving, say, Communism, or Fascism, or Democracy, or ...? b) "protect the environment as if it were a living being". So, if it is a living being which we do not want to harm, then we should stop moving completely. Because, otherwise, we would hurt someone -- animals, grass, bacterias. So, we would better be dead -- that would guarantee that we do not create any harm to anything. Also, if we want to preserve the environment, the first thing would be -- to stop uncontrolled reproduction -- limit number of children per family, and kill old people (as being "useless") and so on... So, what this -- "protecting environment" thing? Does it have any practical meaning?

I do admire this great film maker. However, modern Russia Must guard against the return of the romanticism of the past such as The Tzar, and Christian Orthodoxy for Russia is now increasing a rising global power with multi ethnic and multi faith citizenry. For that reason, modern Russia cannot afford to reconstruct itself according to nationalist image of the Christian Orthodoxy and One Christian God!

Multinational/multicultural environment is the best thing Russia has. This is the essence of Russia. This what makes it being unique and self-driven. It determines its strength and its dynamics. Ignoring this fact, and promoting any mono-culture and mono-ideology would be the biggest mistake Russians would make today and biggest harm for Russia. This is why I am very concern when Russians start looking at "old Russia" or at any pure European models... PR101, I have this feeling that Russians are looking in the deep past, because, at this point they don't know what to choose. The Soviet System failed. The last decades showed that the Western type of democracy is not working well either. So, they look in the past and see that "stable and strong" Russia in its Golden Era. One thing they ignore, though -- the world has changed. The imperialism is not something what is popular today. And it is not coming back, unless there is another world war or big global disaster which would push the humanity back to the middle ages. Besides, if we recollect the roots of the October Revolutions of 1917, one of the basic slogan of it was -- transform Russia from the "prison of nations" to the country where everybody would be equal and free. The Tzarist Russia is a bad model to follow. It is a road to nowhere... What I am thinking, why to rush? Why everything must be determined and answered today? Why would not just use very simple formula like "do everything what benefits average Russian citizen" and let everything else float freely and self-determining its shape and self-adjusting its structure during the "journey"?... Ironically, this would, probably, bring back a lot of elements of the Soviet System. With all its advantages and problems. But, what is a big deal? Some others (including the US and Europe) are working hard today to reproduce the their versions of the Soviet Union anyway...

PR101, Well said. I feel the same way: Michalkov is a great director and a thinking man. I would agree with some of his views about uniqueness of Russia and its path, about Putin being very important to Russia's stability and about protection of the environment. I was surprised though to hear about his push back to orthodoxy as a primary religion. Russia has for a long time been a successful multicultural country, this is its strength and its future. The use of "national icons" like Tzar, orthodoxy, etc., are viewed by some as a means of solidifying national identity, which in their view may be threatened. Some believe that unlimited immigration from former Sov. republics, China and other countries, many with different cultures and religions, undermines Russia's economy and stability. Some oppose that fearing that primary population will be irreversibly diluted if such practices are not stopped, much like the opposition to Muslim immigration in Europe. But that's a completely different issue - the solution is to change immigration laws to attract highly educated, valuable specialists and discourage uneducated, low wage immigration. That has nothing to do with religion or nationality. The difference between Putin and Michalkov, although I admire both in their own way, is that Putin understands this and Michalkov doesn't. I hope the latter doesn't consider running for president in 2012. It will be a waste.