The growing sector of heritage industry and creative uses of the past in Russia illustrate that, besides the undeniable existence of restorative nostalgia, there are other, more progressive forms of nostalgia that address social change and the protection of heritage sites. To analyse these forms of nostalgia, I visited the Third Cultural Forum of the Regions of Russia, which opened on September 22, 2017, at the Public Chamber of Russian Federation in Moscow, and analysed discussions that took place. I have chosen to focus on the panels Sviaz’ Pokoleniy (The Link between the Generations) and Delovoy Klub Nasledie i Ekonomika (Business Club Heritage and Economics), as they best represent distinct attitudes towards past and the use of nostalgic sentiments as an impetus for change, and conducted discourse analysis of the discussions that took place at these panels.