On June 5, the Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), once one of the main events in the calendar of Russian politics and economics, began. SPIEF is the most important economic forum in the country. Every year, President Vladimir Putin delivers a keynote speech on the future of the Russian economy and Russia's position in the world, the BBC recalls.
The Kremlin has been trying for years to make SPIEF an event to compete with foreign venues, such as the annual forum in Davos, Switzerland, primarily through representative foreign participation. For example, in 2013, SPIEF's guests of honor were Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. And in 2018, after the annexation of Crimea, French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to St. Petersburg for the forum. The heads of the world's largest companies - Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Total and Siemens, etc. - regularly spoke at the forum sessions.
If the Russian media news forum is anything to go by, the invasion of Ukraine doesn't seem to have changed anything. On Wednesday, Russian media reported in detail that more than 17 thousand people will come to SPIEF. Since the morning, news appeared in the state news agencies that a “humanoid robot” was presented at the forum, this or that agreement was signed, technological projects and the development of BRICS were discussed (and even the family tree of Vladimir Putin was shown).
But the devil is in the details. Businessmen from Western countries are almost absent from the extensive program of the forum. Europe will be represented by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó. The main guests of SPIEF, according to RBC, this year will be Bolivian President Luis Arce and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Of great intrigue was the participation in the forum of representatives of the Taliban, a group that completely seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 (and is recognized as a terrorist in Russia). As a result, the Taliban delegation will still come to the forum.
Judging by the program, unlike previous years, the forum does not cause much enthusiasm even among big Russian business. Of the top twenty richest Russians (according to Forbes), only three are scheduled to speak at the forum sessions - the former CEO of PhosAgro Andrey Guriev, the head of Severstal Alexey Mordashov and the founder of the WildBerries market Tatiana Bakalchuk. But, as noted by the Faridaily channel, for the first time both daughters of Vladimir Putin will speak at the same time at the sessions - the member of the presidium of the Russian Association for the Promotion of Science Maria Vorontsova (the eldest daughter of the president) and the general director of Innopraktika Katerina Tikhonova ( the youngest daughter).
The very names of the sessions can tell a lot about the current course of Russia and its relations with the world. For example, a business breakfast will be held at SPIEF on June 6, where participants will discuss the “course to moral safety”. The participants plan to discuss “what traditional values Russia's sovereignty is based on”. And on June 7, there will be a session on "Family values and traditions as the basis of sustainable development".
At the same time, the war - it seems the main factor influencing the business climate in Russia - will not be discussed at the forum. In the show, the invasion of Ukraine is mentioned only in the position of Anna Tsivileva (another relative of Putin, according to journalists from “The Project”, who is included in the register of “foreign agents”). She heads the "Defenders of the Fatherland" fund. to support participants in the Northern Military District (as the Russian authorities call the war).