Dmitry Trenin: Russian popular culture is shedding – slowly, perhaps, but steadily – the habit of imitating what's hot in the West. Russian political culture is returning to its fundamentals. Unlike that of the West, but somewhat similar to the East – it is based on the model of a family. There is a clear need for a set of guiding ideas about "who we are," "where we are in this world" and "where we are going." Whatever finally emerges will probably be built on the values-led foundation of traditional religions, starting with Russian Orthodoxy, and will include elements from our past, including the pre-Petrine, imperial, and Soviet periods. Ensuring that Putin's legacy lives on is a major task for the Kremlin. Succession is not merely an issue of who eventually emerges in the top position, but what kind of "ruling generation" comes in.
