In his June 20 keynote to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted the primary challenge in crafting an economic system in today’s world: “It is essential that the benefits of these technological breakthroughs are shared broadly, transforming society, reducing poverty, improving quality of life, and providing equal opportunities for every individual to acquire the knowledge needed to fulfill their potential. In other words, it is crucial to uphold the fundamental principle of justice.”
This was a task, Putin reported, that Russia was undertaking domestically, and “through creating joint mechanisms for global and regional development in partnership with our friendly nations.”
Putin opened his lengthy SPIEF address by reporting that “despite a challenging international landscape” (i.e., sanctions and other external pressures), the Russian economy was growing in, especially, non-oil-and-gas GDP—by 7.2% in 2023 and 4.9% in 2024. “The idea of the Russian economy being completely commodity-based and dependent on the exports of hydrocarbons is clearly outdated,” the St. Petersburg host said. Russia is the largest economy in Europe in terms of GDP, he reported.
After highlighting numerous ongoing domestic initiatives taken toward, for example, lowering the poverty rate, increasing the rate of productive employment, lowering the youth unemployment rate, enhancing the business environment, and investing in research and development, Putin turned to the international stage.
