During 18 years in summer Saint-Petersburg has been hosting the International Economic Forum. This event used to be large one and usually was organized by Russian government.
During previous 18 years in early summer Saint-Petersburg has been hosting the International Economic Forum. This event used to be a large scale one and usually was organized by Russian government. Lately, the Forum was represented by Mr. Putin . Taking into account that Russian President had been “making friends” with the Western democracies before the conflict in Ukraine burst out, top figures of political & economic establishment were not averse to have a cookie talk with Vladimir Putin.
So to say, Putin was a kind of tool to attract investors in Russia. Really, Saint-Petersburg Forum provided a good possibilities for inflow of new technologies, concluding of macrocontracts, discussing of business development prospects. Chief executives of the largest international enterprises, political leaders, ministersvisited Saint-=Petersburg. Foreign investors began to familiarize with Russian market, the confidence appeared and serious deals were being concluded. However, as soon as the West believed in cooperation with Russia, Putin unveiled his true face by annexing Crimea in 2014 and subsequently unleashing the war in Ukraine. As a result, international community was bound to impose economic sanctions on the aggressor.
Saint-Petersburg Forum, in its sunny days, allowed Russia to conclude trillion rubles contracts. In the meantime, it has not succeeded in implementing its primary goal to become a vast discussion platform capable of drawing in political forces sufficient for discussion of the topical issues, faced by developing economies and international community. In spite of ambitious plans of Russian President, Saint-Petersburg Forum has never turned into a facility that would efface the boundaries between states and make business dealing easier.
To be true, even before the imposing of sanctions and despite the attention manifested by the foreign investors, Saint Petersburg Economic Forum has never outgrown the regular large-scale Russian PR-project into an efficient business tool indeed. In fact, even government level issues were not solved. Out of habit, Russian officials promoted themselves, meanwhile businesspersons either lobbied their own interests or straightforwardly echoed the government. Actually, this Forum was designed to provide the advert support for multi million contracts, as agreeing deals that involve great money usually take much more time.
It should be noticed that last year in the course of the forum local authorities and business structures concluded certain agreements. However, they are of little significance, considering those agreements have never been implemented. In 2014, according to official report, the overall sum of the contracts concluded made up 150 billion rubles, though any source has not mentioned what happened to the other 18 contracts summing up 130 billion rubles. Therefore, the destiny of 2015 Saint-Petersburg International Forum remains doubtful.
This year local events funding has reduced by 4.5 million rubles. Due to sanctions and business restrictions in Russia, participation of foreign stockholders has significantly decreased. It has been officially stated that the US government “will not be represented on any level”. Out of the Western democracies, the only one who has confirmed his attendance is Alexis Cipras – Greece Prime Minister owing a debt to the EU and IMF. It is curious that the Forum program foresees public speaking of the “invited Heads of States”, though their names remain unknown. This situation calls to mind Victory Parade leaders’ invitation venture on 9 May in Moscow. As much as Kremlin propagandists strived to sparkle turmoil around this event, any European leader did not come.
It is also illustrative that this year neither international media nor specialized publications make no reference to the Saint-Petersburg Economic Forum. It makes no interest for the world, since there aren’t a lot of counterparts desiring to sign long-term contracts with the faithless aggressor-state in the midst of the conflict. Moreover, during last year, by virtue of Putin’s policy Russia has shifted from an attractive, rapidly growing economy into a rogue state. That is why everybody in the world realizes that Russia runs this Forum exceptionally in pursue of its image cultivation.