Boris Vishnevsky’s blog post at the Ekho Moskvi web-site, 4.06.2021

Photo from the official web-site of the President of Russia/ http://www.kremlin.ru

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is a depressing sight.

Not only because there are many respectable men in expensive suits, traveling in expensive cars in the centre of the city (I saw myself yesterday, when I was going to work to the Mariyinsky Palace [where the Legislative Assembly of St.Petersburg is located] passing by the Astoria, Lotte and Petro Palace hotels).

Not only because a million is demanded for participation in the forum and the right to “socialise” among a number of high-ranking officials.

Not only because the price list in “forum” restaurants – with cheesecakes per a thousand roubles – evokes only one association: “they are rich and bored”.

And not only because during the pandemic, when it is impossible to hold either single pickets or public hearings on urban planning issues, and concerts are canceled especially during the forum, but all “forum” events are allowed, including entertainment, where there are no masks or social distancing.

All this because already long ago this forum turned from a conceived “Russian Davos” into a “vanity fair” for domestic use; where leaders of other countries and world-famous economists (as it happened before) virtually do not participate (exceptions are extremely rare).

Once upon a time, two decades ago, the forum was a real platform where opposition economists spoke, where serious ideas were discussed, where they criticised the government and its economic policies. But the further it goes, the more it turns into a gala reception on behalf of President Putin against the backdrop of the St. Petersburg palaces, which he regards as his residence.

And most importantly, in a situation when the Russian authorities are becoming increasingly more hostile to the whole world (except for a handful of cannibals), when the country is portrayed as a besieged fortress surrounded by enemies, when it is publicly declared that everyone around is supposedly only dreaming of how to harm us and weaken us, when the shameful labels of “foreign agents” and “undesirable organisations” are glued [to organisations and people], – what kind of an “international forum” can we talk about then? If there are enemies around? Who will come to us and who will seriously discuss investments into Russia in such a state of affairs?

So everything turns into a bureaucratic and secular get-together, where the Russian “masters of life” – officials, oligarchs, State Duma deputies and “senators”, state watchdog propagandists and court “secular lionesses” – feast and communicate, openly despising their subjects, and rejoicing as all is well with them. And obsequiously they listen to the next ritual speech by Vladimir Putin.

A pitiful sight. But they do not and will not understand this.

Source at the Ekho Moskvi web-site

https://echo.msk.ru/blog/boris_vis/2849178-echo/