Vladimir Putin’s Annual Economic Forum in St. Petersburg has always been a hot ticket for Russian and foreign business tycoon who want to develop assistance with Kremlin by hosting luxury parties or announcing a large investment. Invasion to Ukraine has made it radioactive.
Many business leaders are worried and even seen in the International Economic Forum of St. Petersburg this year, afraid that it might make them the target of sanctions, three people who are familiar with the situation said, refusing to be identified because this problem is sensitive. At least two executives said they planned to leave early to avoid attending Putin’s speech at the event, which in recent years was the peak for those who were well connected.

Some people asked the organizers, Roscongress, not to identify them in their badge at the Spief forum on June 15-18, people said. Roscongress did not respond to requests to comment.

Even when Russia competes with international sanctions that have never happened before which threatens their deepest economic recession in decades, officials project the business approach as usual for the 25 -year commemoration event under the slogan “New Opportunities in the New World.”

Confrontation with the West which has increased at times for nuclear war warnings is almost not mentioned on the Spief website, although foreign visitors are told to bring cash because sanctions means the mastercard card and bank visa issued outside of Russia will not work there.

Russia uses the previous forum to “show the success of the country” while business leaders can show that they have “connections and money,” said Ekaterina Schulmann, a political scientist and colleague at the German Bosch Academy who moderated the discussion panel at Spief last year. This year, “If domestic participants do not all want to show their participation, then foreigners are more than that,” said Schulmann, who has been labeled as a “foreign agent” by Kremlin.

Before the war, Russian tycoon and companies managed by the government competed to do each other by flying in comfort such as Sting and Robbie Williams, whose song “Party Like a Russia” captured the extraordinary mood from the Spief’s late scene. Most of the same tycoon and companies are now under US sanctions and the European Union and several parties are planned this time.

Putin’s mainstay event has attracted global political figures such as French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This time, this hosted the Afghan Taliban Representative, according to the Tass News Service, the Minister of Investment from the Myanmar Military Government and the Head of Venezuela’s Central Bank, all countries that were highly approved.

Officials from Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Central Africa were also present, as well as from the former Soviet Republic. Even so, the number of foreign representatives is a small part of those who existed in the past.

Apart from their governmental sanctions against Russia, the leaders of business organizations in Moscow representing France, Italy, Canada and the US are registered by the Spief organizer as a part. The American Chamber of Commerce in a Russian spokesman confirmed its participation.

Putin did not mention what he called Russia’s “Special Military Operation” in a Salam Letter to the participants who blamed the “Mistakes of Western countries” for soaring global inflation, disturbances to supply chains and lack of food.

But what is dubbed “difficult time” in relationships is reflected in many Spief programs. Panels are dominated by Russian officials with several foreigners, and include topics -topics such as protecting “national media sovereignty” and increasing consumer and business patriotism in the efforts of import substitution.

Some names that were previously prominent in Spief adopted a lower profile. Russia’s biggest lender, who was approved by the PJSC Sberbank managed by the government, would not host the traditional party at the forum, two people who were familiar.

The billionaires approved by Deripaska seemed to put aside their participation, saying the problem was “finally decided” in the post of the Ceri Tree Telegram on June 8 which was distributed by the fruit. “It’s time to collect harvests,” said Deripaska, who often spends time in his agricultural area Krasnodar in southern Russia.

One of the highlights of the program is the Head of Gazprom Alexey Miller, a rare speaker at the previous forum, who will join a session at the Global Gas Market, according to Spief.

The high cost of the forum in 960,000 rubles ($ 16,600) per person caused some people to miss the event because it made less business with many international companies that were no longer present, the executive of two large industrial companies said.

There is no senior executive of foreign companies who want to be photographed at Spief this year,” said Chris Weafer, Chief Executive of Macro-Advisory Ltd. Attend and also do not want to burn the bridge with Kremlin. “