Once hailed as Russia’s answer to Davos, this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) feels more like a trade show for pariah states, Kremlin nepo babies and contrarians than a hub of global dealmaking.
Western attendees are scarce at President Vladimir Putin’s flagship business forum, once a symbol of East-West cooperation. Even with U.S. President Donald Trump pushing for renewed trade with Moscow, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine has kept Americans and Europeans largely absent from the forum for a fourth consecutive year.
Once upon a time, the forum drew global leaders, Wall Street titans, tech CEOs, and energy giants, all eager to court Kremlin-linked capital and explore Russia’s vast market. Now, it is a curated echo chamber — still dressed in power suits and PR but stripped of credibility.
I covered about seven of these forums for Bloomberg News from 2006 until 2015. Back then, most of the Moscow bureau would decamp to Putin’s hometown for the duration of the event. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Between panels, you could bump into Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan bosses, corner elusive oligarchs and snag interviews with ExxonMobil and BP heads without breaking a sweat.
Deals were signed, news was broken, champagne flowed and “strategic partnerships” were sealed with backslaps and photo ops on speedboats in the glaring midnight sun. Now, any international presence is largely symbolic or lies in the ideology of multipolarity.
The handshakes still happen, but they are between third-tier financiers chasing niche bets and officials from sanctioned economies swapping notes on how to evade Western pressure.
The most infamous soirée of the forum was always held at Shatush, hosted by Mikhail Prokhorov — the party-loving oligarch, perennial bachelor and one-time owner of the Brooklyn Nets. It was a heady mix of money and glamour, where entrepreneurs like Oleg Tinkov and Rustam Tariko sipped champagne alongside senior ministers and supermodels like Natalia Vodianova. Platters of oysters circulated through the crowd while go-go dancers performed under flashing strobe lights and magicians worked the room with sleight of hand.
