The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF; ) is an annual Russian business event for the economic sector, which has been held in St. Petersburg since 1997, and under the auspices of the Russian President since 2006. Each year, more than 10,000 people from over 120 different countries take part. The Forum brings together the chief executives of major Russian and international companies, heads of state, political leaders, prime ministers, deputy prime ministers, departmental ministers, and governors.
The key purpose of the Forum is to provide practical solutions for businesses and governments, helping to overcome the geographic and information barriers between Russia and other countries. The forum was historically intended for Russia to attract foreign direct investment, discuss economic policy and project a global image that Russia was open for business after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The SPIEF forum has often been described as the 'Russian Davos'; ie. the Russian analogue of the World Economic Forum that is usually held in Davos, Switzerland.
Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading politicians and business executives from the Western world and their allies (included within the Unfriendly Countries List) were notably absent from SPIEF events, even as overall attendance rose at the forum, where Russia attracted non-Western nations' participation, with attendance up from 69 countries in 2022 to 75 countries in 2023, and the number of individual participants also increased from 14,000 people from 130 countries, with 81 countries sending official representatives in 2022 to more than 17,000 participants from 130 countries taking part in events, both offline and online formats, in 2023. Journalists from "unfriendly countries" were denied admittance. In response, SPIEF forums have adjusted their focus to highlight leading politicians and business executives from various countries such as the People's Republic of China, India, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Serbia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nicaragua and the Central African Republic. In addition, delegations from disputed polities such as the Taliban and the Donetsk People's Republic were among the notables present at the 2022 forum.
History
The first St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held on June 18–20, 1997 under the auspices of the Council of the Federation, the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CIS and with the support of the Russian government. The Forum welcomed more than 1,500 attendees from 50 countries. The Russian and Belarusian governments signed credit agreements worth RUB 500 billion.
The St. Petersburg Economic Forum International Foundation was formed in 1998 in St. Petersburg, with Herman Gref, then the Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg, and chairman of its Municipal Property Management Committee, appointed in charge of its activities. An investment contribution was also provided by Leningrad Region. The grounds for the allocation were outlined in a decree from the Governor of Leningrad Region:
In 1999, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree giving the go-ahead to the economic forum in St. Petersburg, and recommended that the St. Petersburg Economic Forum International Foundation be allocated the required funding and be offered support in organizing the event. Furthermore, it was also recommended that the Russian government provide possible financing and organizational support to the Council of the Federation and the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CIS.
Information regarding the long-term role of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum International Foundation in the organization and running of the forum in St. Petersburg has not been made publicly available. Until 2004, the SPIEF Organizing Committee consisted of the Council of the Federation and the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CIS. In 2004 the Chairman of the Council of the Federation Sergei Mironov and the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Russia Herman Gref joined the Organizing Committee, the former as chairman and the latter as Co-chairman.
In 2005, President of Russia Vladimir Putin took part in the Forum for the first time. Through his participation, the forum attained the informal status of a "presidential" event.