When black smoke hung in the sky above St. Petersburg as Russia’s flagship annual investment event opened this week, the result of a Ukrainian drone attack, the metaphor for Russia’s economy was almost too obvious to ignore.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is a glitzy multi-day meeting between officials, business executives, media personalities and other high-powered individuals from Russia and abroad.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has used the high-profile forum to shore up ties with non-Western allies and project economic stability. But this year’s event came as financial worries are mounting for the regime.
The main question on the table: can Moscow’s economy keep sustaining its war effort?
For those seeking an answer, SPIEF was underwhelming. The war in Ukraine was notably absent from the spotlight in panel discussions that addressed more prosaic challenges, like improving the investment climate and contending with AI.
