"Culture is the main essence uniting a nation. It doesn't much matter what is his formal ethnicity. What's important is how a person identifies himself," Putin told his cultural adviser Vladimir Tolstoy during a meeting.

　　"In this sense it's very important for us to create a single cultural space," he said, adding culture should play a historic role in the current complicated international environment.

　　Tolstoy echoed Putin's opinion, saying provocative appeals which could have led to isolation were very dangerous.

　　"Talented people may have different points of view, but it is important that the foundations of national cultural policy unite people," the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

　　The advisor added that culture could become an instrument of soft power, and proposed that the national cultural program must have in its core that "Russia is neither Europe nor Asia."

　　Putin set up the Arts and Culture Council in 2004 to develop principles of state policy in the field of culture, with Tolstoy serving the Council's secretary.

　　The Russian government repeatedly underlined importance of " soft power" and of respect to national traditions in the modern world.

　　In March, Russian Foreign Ministry voiced concern over the UN Human Rights Council, saying that "implementation of human rights must take into account traditions, cultural and historical characteristics" of a country. Last July, Putin said that Russia must be able to respond adequately on "soft power" use by other countries.