- Russia's isolation from the global economy caused poor turnout at Putin's economic forum in St. Petersburg.
- The event previously drew big names from the West, but was mostly populated by lower-level politicians this time.
Vladimir Putin's signature economic forum this year saw poor turnout — another sign that Russia's war on Ukraine is isolating it from the global economy.
Though Russia's annual event in St. Petersburg has previously drawn in big names, such as French President Emmanuel Macron and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the event failed to draw such figures on Wednesday.
Politicians from the West were largely absent, and even countries that were once neighbors of the Soviet Union were a no-show, Bloomberg reported.
Most in attendance were lower-level politicians from the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia – areas that Russia has become closer to economically as Western sanctions cut it off from traditional avenues of trade.
The most notable attendees were officials from China, including Zhang Hanhui, China's ambassador to Moscow, and Zhou Liqun, the chairman of the Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia.
Russia has significantly ramped up its trade relations to China over the past year, with officials vowing to build a "no limits" partnership and take trade volumes between the two countries to a new record in 2023.
But experts have warned that the moat between Russia and Western world could be lethal to Russia's economy. Despite the nation's stubborn show of defiance, sanctions are taking a toll on Moscow finances, with oil and gas revenue crashing 50% while the nation's budget deficit deepens. And while Russia has ramped up its trade with China and other allies, some experts say it could be sacrificing its independence to do so.
Though some prognosticators see Russia's economy posting small growth this year, those estimates are largely based on the Kremlin's "cherry-picked" statistics, according to two Yale researchers, who recently made the case that Russia's economy is struggling far more than Putin has let on so far. The nation could even become a failed state within the next decade, one think-tank has estimated.