The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF; russian: Петербургский международный экономический форум, ПМЭФ) is an annual Russian business event for the economic sector, which has been held in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

since 1997, and under the auspices of the

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

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 Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

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 The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

that is usually held in Davos, Switzerland. Since the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

, leading

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

s and

business executives An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

from the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

and their allies (included within the

Unfriendly Countries List The Unfriendly Countries List (russian: Список недружественных стран, Spisok nedruzhestvennykh stran) is a list of countries published by the Russian government that it says "commit unfriendly actions against Russia, Rus ...

) were notably absent from SPIEF events. 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 China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

. In addition, delegations from disputed

polities A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...

such as the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

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 Council of the Federation (french: Conseil de la fédération) is a congress that meets twice annually and comprises the premiers of each of Canada's 13 provinces and territories, the main function of which is to provide a united front among ...

, 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 Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

. The St. Petersburg Economic Forum International Foundation was formed in 1998 in St. Petersburg, with

Herman Gref Hermann Gräf (russian: Герман Оскарович Греф, translit=German Oskarovich Gref, born February 8, 1964), better known as Herman Gref, is a Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Economics and Trade of Russi ...

, 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 Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

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 Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov (russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Миро́нов; born 14 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He was Chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, from 2001 to 2011 ...

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 The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

took part in the Forum for the first time. Through his participation, the forum attained the informal status of a "presidential" event. In 2006 the President of Russia announced his support for the proposal of the Russian government to hold an annual economic forum in St. Petersburg. Responsibility for the organization of the forum was given to the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, which built on the experiences of the Council of the Federation and the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CIS. Under the auspices of the ministry, the current format of SPIEF is more of a successor to its previous incarnation than its continuation. Based on the decision of the Russian President, significant changes were made to the Organizing Committee, with the then Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation Herman Gref appointed its chairman.

was made Co-chairman of the Organizing Committee, which he held until his departure from the Council of the Federation in mid-2011. The Forum was then restructured under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development. Since 2006, SPIEF had been held at the Lenexpo Exhibition Complex, situated on

Vasilievsky Island Vasilyevsky Island (russian: Васи́льевский о́стров, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of the Neva River) in the south ...

in St. Petersburg. Prior to this, the Forum was held at the

Tauride Palace Tauride Palace (russian: Таврический дворец, translit=Tavrichesky dvorets) is one of the largest and most historically important palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Construction and early use Prince Grigory Potemkin of Tauride ...

, the headquarters of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CIS. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Foundation was established in March 2007 to deal with the organizational and technical aspects of running the forum. Anton Troyanov was appointed Director of the Foundation. The first Forum in the updated format was held in 2007, organized by the SPIEF Foundation under the leadership of the Organizing Committee. The same year a partnership between the

(WEF) and SPIEF was announced. On January 25, 2007, St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and World Economic Forum representatives met in Davos to sign a Memorandum of Cooperation between the WEF and the SPIEF. In 2007, Herman Gref left his post at the Russian Ministry of Economic Development to take a position at

Sberbank of Russia PJSC Sberbank (russian: Сбербанк, initially a contraction of russian: сберегательный банк, translit=sberegatelnyy bank, lit=savings bank, link=no) is a Russian majority state-owned banking and financial services compan ...

. As a result, the Organizing Committee became headed by

Elvira Nabiullina Elvira Sakhipzadovna Nabiullina (russian: Эльвира Сахипзадовна Набиуллина; tt, Эльвира Сәхипзадә кызы Нәбиуллина, Elvira Säkhipzadä Kyzy Näbiullina; ba, Эльвира Сәхипз ...

, who was appointed to the post of Minister of Economic Development that same year. On January 22, 2008, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree to form a new SPIEF Organizing Committee and approved its provisions. At the same time, the Russian government was instructed to set aside a budget to finance the preparation and running of the Forum. The Forum's provisions dictate that the Organizing Committee be chaired by the Minister, i.e., the role of chairing the committee falls under the purview of the minister, who in turn approves the members of the organizing committee.

was appointed Co-Chair of the new Organizing Committee. Since 2008,

has remained the Forum's largest sponsor (general partner). Between 2008 and 2011, the Forum was held with the participation of Dmitry Medvedev in his capacity as President of Russia. At that time, Vladimir Putin served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. During one government meeting,

Putin expressed disappointment at his colleagues who took part in the Forum. According to media reports, after the 2008 Forum, during a government Presidium meeting, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

Igor Shuvalov Igor Ivanovich Shuvalov ( rus, И́горь Ива́нович Шува́лов, p=ˈigərʲ ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂʊˈvaləf; born 4 January 1967)Alexey Gordeyev Alexey Vasilyevich Gordeyev (russian: Алексей Васильевич Гордеев; born 28 February 1955) is a Russian politician who served as Member and Deputy Speaker of the State Duma. Previously he was the Deputy Prime Minister of ...

, and was not addressed directly to one particular person. In April 2009, Alexander Stuglev was appointed Director of the SPIEF Foundation, replacing Anton Troyanov. Alexander Stuglev's post also means he is automatically included in the Organizing Committee. In the same year, St. Petersburg Governor

Valentina Matviyenko Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko (russian: Валентина Ивановна Матвиенко, p=vəlʲɪnˈtʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə mətvʲɪˈjɛnkə, ukr, Валентина Іванівна Матвієнко; née Tyutina (Тютина; , ...

signed a resolution "On conducting the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum", which specified the main points of cooperation between the city, the Forum Organizing Committee, and the SPIEF Foundation, and established the Coordination Committee. In May 2012, the post of Chair of the SPIEF Organizing Committee went to the new Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation,

Andrey Belousov Andrey Removich Belousov (russian: Андре́й Рэ́мович Белоу́сов; born 17 March 1959) is a Russian economist and politician, serving as First Deputy Prime Minister since 21 January 2020.President of Finland Sauli Niinistö. President of Pakistan

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...

was also expected to attend, but cancelled his trip just one day earlier (on June 20) due to domestic problems when the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that the Prime Minister was occupying his post illegally. In June 2013, the post of Chair of the Organizing Committee went to new Minister of Economic Development of Russia

Alexey Ulyukaev Alexey Valentinovich Ulyukaev ( rus, Алексе́й Валенти́нович Улюка́ев, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej vəlʲɪnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ʊlʲʊˈka(j)ɪf; born 23 March 1956) is a Russian politician, scientist, and economist. Between 24 ...

. However, organization of the Forum and development of its business programme were overseen by Deputy Minister Sergey Belyakov. In 2014, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum found itself at the centre of controversy over the political crisis in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Due to diplomatic tensions between Russia and a number of Western nations, heads of major corporations based in the US, Europe, and other regions declined to participate in the Forum. Speaking to reporters, an official White House representative confirmed that their administration had discussed the possibility of declining invitations to SPIEF with US business executives. Executives who declined to attend the Forum included heads of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

International Paper The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 56,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31 ...

, Goldman Sachs, ConocoPhillips, Siemens, and others. The Forum's organizers maintained that this absence of several multinational corporations played no role in shaping the event's official programme. In 2014, Sergey Belyakov was fired from his government post. In September of the same year, he was appointed chairman of the board of the SPIEF Foundation. In November 2014, Minister Ulyukaev left the post of Chair of the Organizing Committee. In his place, the President of Russia appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Sergei Prikhodko. Since that time, the Forum has been organized directly by the Russian government administration, rather than the Ministry of Economic Development. On December 4, 2015, the SPIEF Foundation was renamed to the Roscongress Foundation.

SPIEF timeline

;I St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 18–20, 1997 under the auspices of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of CIS Member States and with the support of the Russian government. It was attended by more than 1,500 people from 50 countries. During the Forum, the governments of Russia and Belarus signed loan agreements totaling 500 billion roubles. ;II St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 17–19, 1998 under the auspices of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of CIS Member States and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The Forum, held as an annual event for the first time, was attended by some 2,600 people, including leaders of CIS member-states, and representatives of 36 major international organizations, including the Council of Europe, the United Nations, and UNESCO. In addition, the Forum was attended by prominent Russian scholars, as well as heads of Russian and international private financial institutions. During the Forum, 700 investment projects were agreed on, and 52 agreements and protocols on investments totaling approximately US$1 billion were signed. ;III St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 16–17, 1999 under the auspices of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of CIS Member States, as well as with the support of the Russian President and Government. The Forum was attended by more than 2,000 people. Among the most memorable events of the Forum was the exhibition on Regional Markets of Russia and CIS countries, and the presentation of the Greater Volga and Siberian Agreement inter-regional associations for economic interaction between federal subjects of the RF. ;IV St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 13–15, 2000 under the motto "Strategies for the XXI Century: Concerted Efforts in the Interests of Creativity and Sustainable Development". The Forum was attended by more than 2,200 people from 57 countries, including Belarus, Ukraine, Germany, China, Egypt, Brazil, and Peru. Forum participants included the UN Under Secretary General, Mark Brown; Acting President of the EBRD, Charles Frank; and representatives of OSCE and other international organizations and institutions. During the Forum, a Moscow-Paris teleconference dedicated to a number of social and economic problems was organized, which was attended by members of the Federation Council of Russia, and French senators, as well as prominent thought leaders and public figures of the two countries. ;V St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 12–16, 2001 under the motto "The XXI Century: Innovative Development for the Benefit of Humanity". By 2001, the Forum's status had grown significantly. It was officially recognized as the primary economic conference for the CIS. The presidents of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan sent letters of welcome to Forum participants. The Forum was attended by Czech Prime Minister

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

and Chairman of the Parliament of Romania Nicolae Vacaroiu. In addition, representatives of the IMF and IBRD were in attendance. ;VI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 18–22, 2002 under the motto "Russia and the CIS; Moving Towards Sustainable Development — Issues of Governance". The Forum was attended by more than 2,000 representatives of Russia and 40 foreign countries (including the CIS). The Forum programme included presentations of investment projects, exhibitions, and business negotiations that culminated in of contracts and agreements signing. The main result of the Forum was the further improvement of international economic relations. The VI Forum differed from previous Forums not only in its strategic focus, but also in its pragmatic approach. Issues of future investment in Russia and CIS countries were touched on as well. ;VII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 17–21, 2003 under the motto "Efficient Economy — a Decent Life". This international conference was attended by some 2,500 people from 48 countries. Among the honoured guests were EBRD President

Jean Lemierre Jean Lemierre (born 6 June 1950) is a French former public servant who was the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2000 to 2008. He is now chairman of BNP Paribas. Career Public sector In 2000, Lemierre was el ...

, Deputy UN Secretary General

Brigita Schmögnerová Brigita Schmögnerová (born 17 November 1947) is a Slovak economist and politician. She was the Minister of Finance of Slovakia from 1998 to 2002 under Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda. She was appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nat ...

, IMF First Deputy managing director

Anne Krueger Anne Osborn Krueger (; born February 12, 1934) is an American economist. She was the World Bank Chief Economist from 1982 to 1986, and the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2001 to 2006. She is current ...

, OECD Secretary General Donald Johnston, and Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization Philippe Petit. The Forum brought together representatives of political and business circles from Brazil and Turkey, as well as Nepal, Cameroon, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Chairman of the Latin American Parliament (LAP) Ney Lopes headed the official delegation of the LAP. The Business Council of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organization was represented by its Secretary General Costas Masmanidis, and the Turkish-Russian Trade Council was represented by its president Turgut Gur. Two plenary sessions and 20 roundtables addressed issues of Eurasia's social and economic strategy in the 21st century. ;VIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 15–19, 2004 under the motto of the previous conference: "Efficient Economy — a Decent Life". The forum was attended by more than 3,000 people from 50 countries, including representatives from the UN, the EBRD, the World Intellectual Property Organization, Nordic Investment Bank, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan delivered a welcome speech. The forum programme included presentations and exhibitions of the Southern Federal District of Russia, Armenia and the Czech Republic, as well as an exhibition on Mineral Resources of the CIS. ;IX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 14–16, 2005 under the auspices of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation under the motto "Efficient Economy – a Decent Life". The Forum was attended by more than 1,800 people, including President Vladimir Putin and members of the Russian Government, as well as 25 ministers and 7 heads of parliament of other countries and 17 Russian and 10 foreign heads of regions. During the Forum two plenary sessions, more than 25 roundtables and 4 conferences were held, and numerous speeches were delivered. The primary focus of the Forum was meaningful and independent dialogue on the economic and social development of Russia and CIS countries, integration processes within the former Soviet Union, and prospects for international economic and humanitarian cooperation. Special attention was paid to problems of economic growth and quality of life in the context of globalization and issues of international and inter-regional cooperation between Nordic countries, which were discussed at the panel "Prospects for Cooperation in the Arctic". Roundtables were attended by First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Herman Gref, Head of the Federal Agency for Science and Innovations Sergey Mazurenko, and the chairman of Gazprom, Alexey Miller. ;X St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 13–15, 2006 and was attended by Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov, Foreign Minister

Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (russian: Сергей Викторович Лавров, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat and politician who has served as the Foreign Minister of Russia since 2004. Lavrov served as the Permanent Represe ...

, Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Herman Gref, and many others. Among the international guest speakers were IMF First Deputy managing director Anne Krueger, India's Minister of Trade and Industry Kamal Nath, China's Chairman of the Committee on Development and Reform Ma Kai, and Brazil's Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Luiz Fernando Furlan. The main theme of the 10-year anniversary Forum was "Challenges of Globalization and the Competitive Advantages of Developing Countries". The organizers provided participants an opportunity to discuss the most urgent issues of the world economy: common development trends in Brazil, Russia, India and China — countries which in recent years have become world leaders in terms of economic growth — as well as trends and prospects for the development of Russia's economy. The ceremonial presentation of the Global Energy Awards was followed by a discussion on the most critical problems in the energy sector. The Lenexpo Exhibition Centre, which has all the necessary infrastructure for top-level plenary sessions, roundtables and exhibitions, became the new SPIEF venue. ;XI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 8–10, 2007. The Forum was a cooperation between two venues – the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the World Economic Forum in Davos. It was commemorated by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Trade and the World Economic Forum. SPIEF was attended by more than 8,000 people and delegations from 76 countries, including 9 heads of state, 3 prime ministers, representatives of 340 foreign businesses from 65 countries, 37 representatives of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, 34 representatives of the State Duma, and 149 heads of Russian regions. On June 10, 2007, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev delivered a speech at the "Competitive Eurasia – the Space of Trust" panel. The core SPIEF programme consisted of 4 plenary sessions and 14 roundtables. During the Russia-China Trade and Investment Cooperation session, Russia and China signed 18 agreements on investment and trade cooperation totaling over US$1 billion. Among them were agreements on partnership and cooperation between JSC Crocus International and the China Foreign Trade Center, a cooperation agreement and contract between Incom-Auto and Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Plant and the Ural Cars and Motors Company, and others. There were seven more roundtables and nine presentations during which 13 contract signing ceremonies, totaling approximately US$13.5 billion, were held. One of the days of the St. Petersburg Forum was dedicated to the analysis of Russia's economy and its development trends up to 2020. In his speech, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov suggested that by 2020 Russia would become one of the five largest economies in the world. The distinctive feature of the XI Forum was its practical orientation. Exhibitions were among the main events of SPIEF and illustrated the high economic and innovative potential of Russia's regions. ;XII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The Forum was held on June 6–8, 2008. The emergence of new centers of economic growth resulted in changes in the structure and development trends of global commodity and financial markets. The global financial crisis and problems associated with the dollar's decline, the emergence of sovereign investment funds, and a rise in energy and food prices are individual manifestations of such processes. The problem of climate change can be added to the list, the solution of which requires not just individual, but collective efforts on the part of the majority of the world's nations. The existing institutions of global economic management had been shaped in a different era, and now they do not fulfill their purpose of preventing recessionary trends and diminishing their negative effects, both for individual countries and the entire global economy. In such conditions, many nations act individually in order to protect their national interests. Such uncoordinated actions may cause the unjustified rise of protectionism. Fundamental reform of institutions and principles of global governance is essential for a more accurate reckoning of both national and global interests. ;XIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Dmitry Medvedev 4 June 2009-3

The 2009 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was dedicated to pressing issues of the current stage of world development. As the crisis had shown, in recent years the economies of the countries of the world had not become less (as was believed a year beforehand) but more dependent on each other; however, the crisis revealed itself in different ways in various regions of the world. On the other hand, it had now become obvious that national and international institutions formed in the post-war period were inadequate for the level of development of the global economy and the financial system, and could not allow the necessary level of trust in the economic system to be maintained. The ongoing global economic crisis had confirmed the need to abandon standard approaches and required collective, nontrivial solutions to be adopted. Forum participants discussed new approaches to understanding the future of international financial institutions, the prospects for development of the banking sector, the efficiency of measures taken by governments and other equally important issues. Special attention was paid to Russia's role in solving these problems. The Forum was attended by representatives of the world political and business elite, and leading economists and experts. What were the peculiarities of the situation in the economies and banking systems in various regions of the world? What measures should have been taken at national and supranational levels to alter the situation? What was the role of the banking sector and state policy in this sector? Was it enough to reform only the financial system, or were wider structural changes needed? These and many other questions were specifically discussed by Forum participants. The centuries-long history of the world had demonstrated many examples of struggle with economic crises and the methods of overcoming them. 2,514 people attended the official Forum program, including: • 5 Heads of States and Governments (Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Finland, and the Philippines, and the Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina); • 35 Vice Prime Ministers and Ministers of foreign countries; • 56 Ambassadors; and • 54 representatives of international organizations. Altogether there were 271 members of official delegations from 73 countries. • 693 representatives of foreign business from 83 countries, including sponsor and partner representatives; and • 802 representatives of Russian business, including sponsor and partner representatives. The work of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was covered by 1,200 media representatives from 28 countries (Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, the United Kingdom, Germany, Georgia, Egypt, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, Canada, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, China, Lithuania, Macedonia, Russia, Rumania, the United States, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, the Philippines, Finland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, and Japan). ;XIV St. Petersburg International Economic Forum More than 4,200 delegates from 87 countries took part in the St. Petersburg 2010 International Economic Forum. Representatives for 2,066 Russian and 2,142 foreign businesses visited the site of the forum between June 17 and 19, 2010. Among the participants in the official program were nearly 80 top executives of major global companies, high-ranking officers and managers of 325 foreign and 360 Russian companies, as well as official delegations from 80 countries. 1134 members of the mass media were present at the forum. Media outlets of 24 countries were represented, namely: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Britain, Germany, India, Iran, Spain, Italy, Qatar, China, Lithuania, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovenia, USA, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland, France and Japan. ;XV St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The XV St Petersburg International Economic Forum was convened on June 16–18, 2011 under the theme ‘Emerging Leadership for a New Era’. The Forum was attended by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and five foreign government leaders: Prime Minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao, President of Kazakhstan

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...

, President of Finland

Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen (; born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisa ...

, and President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa. The discussions at the Forum were built around three interrelated pillars: 'Securing Global Growth', 'Building Russia's Creative Capital' and 'Expanding Technology Horizons'. At the opening plenary the participants of the Forum were addressed by President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao. The programme of the Forum included the traditional gathering of CEOs of global energy companies at the energy session entitled 'New Paths to Energy Security'. The Forum continued cooperation with international television companies. SPIEF 2011 hosted three television debates organised jointly with CNBC, BBC and Bloomberg. The Forum continued a series of briefings under the theme 'Doing Business in Russia', which gave participants a chance to acquire firsthand information on legislative initiatives aimed at improving opportunities to do business in Russia as well as pose questions to the key newsmakers who shape the business and investment climate in the country. The closing plenary session ‘Managing Fault Lines and Avoiding Future Crises’ featured President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, Prime Minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and President of Finland Tarja Halonen. Dmitry Medvedev awarded the Russian electrophysicist and academic of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Filipp Rutberg, and the American physicist and professor, Arthur Rosenfeld with the Global Energy Prize 2011. ;XVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The XVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum brought together three presidents, two prime ministers and dozens of senior officials and executives from major international companies in Russia's northern capital from June 21–23, 2012, under the slogan "Effective Leadership." The Forum was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and four leaders from other nations: Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, Kyrgyz Republic President

Almazbek Atambayev Almazbek Sharshen uluu Atambayev ( ky, Алмазбек Шаршен уулу Атамбаев, translit=Almazbek Şarşen uulu Atambayev; born 17 September 1956) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 1 December 2 ...

, Macedonian Prime Minister

Nikola Gruevski Nikola Gruevski ( mk, Никола Груевски, pronounced ; hu, Nikola Gruevszki; born 31 August 1970) is a Macedonian politician who served as Prime Minister of Macedonia from 2006 until his resignation, which was caused by the 2016 Mace ...

and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga. A total of 84 agreements were signed as part of SPIEF 2012 with 9 contracts having a combined value of more than 360 billion rubles, including 4 loan agreements for 164.4 billion rubles. The fruitful work of SPIEF 2012 can specifically be attributed to the large number of participants – 5,347. ;XVII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Gesprek met Poetin (9097392157)

The XVII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held from June 20 to 22, 2013 – this year's theme was "Finding Resolve to Build the New Global Economy". 2013 was a record SPIEF year for the number of attendees – 7190 people attended, from 87 countries, out of which total there were 1245 media representatives. Another record statistic concerning SPIEF 2013 was the number of agreements signed – 102 deals amounting to a financial value of 9.6 trillion roubles (US$291 billion), which is approximately 30 times more than equivalent figure from last year's forum. The proceedings of the Forum were attended by the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Mrs

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

, and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006. After a business career working for Unileve ...

. Since Russia holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year, a special Business 20 (B20) summit was held on June 20 at SPIEF 2013. The participants in this B20 summit brought concrete proposals to St. Petersburg with them – aimed at stimulating the global economy, creating jobs, and improving the world's monetary and financial system. From June 18 to 20 SPIEF hosted a Y20 youth summit, and on June 22, 2013 there was a Russia–ASEAN Business Forum. ;XVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The XVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held from May 22 to 24, 2014. Theme of SPIEF 2014: "Sustaining Confidence in a World Undergoing Transformation". The Forum included 82 events, and welcomed three foreign heads of state. In total, the Forum was attended by over 7,500 participants, including 248 heads of major international companies and 445 heads of Russian companies, 40 international and 24 Russian executives listed in the ''Forbes'' and ''Fortune'' rankings, 219 international delegates from 73 countries. The Forum was covered by 1,439 media representatives from 24 countries ;XIX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The XVII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held from June 18 to 20, 2015. Theme of SPIEF 2015: "Time to Act: Shared Paths to Stability and Growth". SPIEF included over 150 events, including SCO and the BRICS forums. The Forum programme alone offered 84 events: summits, panel discussions, roundtables, briefings, and televised debates. Those present included Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras, President of the People's Republic of China

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

, and heads of state of Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Iraq. In total, the Forum was attended by over 10,000 participants from 120 countries, including Russia; 486 heads of major Russian companies and 319 heads of international companies. 2,061 media representatives. ;XX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The XX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held on June 16–18, 2016. The Forum was attended by more than 12,000 participants from 133 countries; more than 600 heads of Russian companies and approximately 300 foreign executives; and 2,651 media representatives from 700 organizations. The theme for SPIEF 2016 was ‘Capitalizing on the New Global Economic Reality’. More than 300 events were held on the margins of the Forum, including SCO, BRICS, and B20 forums, and a meeting with prominent academics and Nobel Prize winners. Italian Prime Minister

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...

, President of Kazakhstan

, President of Guinea

Alpha Condé Alpha Condé (N'Ko: ; born 4 March 1938) is a Guinean politician who served as the fourth president of Guinea from 2010 to 2021. Condé spent decades in opposition to a succession of regimes in Guinea, unsuccessfully running against President L ...

, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and President of the European Commission

Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker (; born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgish politician who served as the 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and 12th President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also served as Finance Minister ...

all took part in the Forum alongside other high-ranking personalities. The twentieth anniversary Forum was held at a new venue – the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre. ;XXI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The XXI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held on June 1–3, 2017. Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

attended the Forum as the Guest of Honour, and also addressed the Forum. This was the first time that an Indian Prime Minister had attended the Forum. Also attending was the President of Moldova Igor Dodon, and the Chancellor of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Christian Kern Christian Kern (; born 4 January 1966) is an Austrian businessman and former politician who served as Chancellor of Austria from 17 May 2016 to 18 December 2017 and chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 25 June 2016 to 25 September 2018. ...

. ;XXII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron (2018-05-24) 07

The XXII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held on May 25–26, 2018. Attending was the President of France Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, and the

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Sta ...

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...

. ;XXIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The XXII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held on June 6–8, 2019. Attending guests included Chinese President

, Prime Minister of India

, President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, Prime Minister of Slovakia

Peter Pellegrini Peter Pellegrini (; born 6 October 1975) is a Slovak politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia from 2018 to 2020 and Minister of Health from December 2019 to March 2020. He previously served as deputy prime minister (2016–2018) a ...

, Prime Minister of Armenia

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan ( hy, Նիկոլ Վովայի Փաշինյան, ; born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician serving as the prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

and UN Secretary General António Guterres. ;XXIV St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The XXIV St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held on June 2–5, 2021. The Forum was attended by participants from 141 countries, including representatives of more than 1,000 media organizations from 46 countries. ;XXV St. Petersburg International Economic Forum The XXV St. Petersburg International Economic Forum - on June 15–18, 2022. The theme of SPIEF 2022 is, "New world - new opportunities". Representatives of 115 countries participated. Attending guests included Cuban Prime Minister

Manuel Marrero Cruz Manuel (Puerca Jarta) Marrero Cruz (born 11 July 1963) is a Cuban politician currently serving as the Prime Minister of Cuba, and the first since re-establishment of the office of Prime Minister in December 2019 after the 43-year abolition of ...

, Egyptian President

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...

, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Armenian President

Vahagn Khachaturyan Vahagn Garniki Khachaturyan ( hy, Վահագն Գառնիկի Խաչատուրյան, ; born 22 April 1959) is an Armenian politician who is the 5th and current president of Armenia. He served as Mayor of Yerevan from 1992 to 1996 and as the Mini ...

, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Venezuelan Vice President

Delcy Rodríguez Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez (born 18 May 1969) is a Venezuelan politician serving as the vice president of Venezuela since 2018. She was also Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information of Venezuela from 2013 to 2014, Min ...

, Central African Republic Prime Minister Félix Moloua, among others. Delegations from the

and Donetsk People’s Republic were also present at the 2022 forum. The 25th forum participation level decreased and secrecy increased due to western countries boycott owing to the

. Despite the announced ban, president of the

United States Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...

did participate in the forum, this time though, there were much less American-born investors who took part in the forum. It was noted that the forum was hard to reach due to sanctions imposed on Russian airlines. Participants who did not wish to be disclosed were allowed to hide their affiliation on official badges and remove public information.

Organizational features

The Organizing Committee

The Organizing Committee of the Forum was formed in 2008 in accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation. Its participants were confirmed by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Later changes to the Organizing Committee were made as a result of the changing roles of the participants. The Organizing Committee traditionally consists of representatives of the various ministries, agencies and organizations involved in the organization of SPIEF (for example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for visa support, the FSO for security provision etc.) or those that have participated in the foundation and development of the Forum, as well as the Directors of SPIEF. Committee meetings are not held to a regular schedule, they happen 2–3 times during the preparation period of a particular Forum. The Organizing Committee approves key decisions that will later be executed by the agencies and the SPIEF Foundation. Initially, the Chairperson of the Organizing Committee was the Minister of Economic Development (according to position); however, the President of the Russian Federation signed two decrees regarding the organizing committee in November 2014. From this point onwards the Chairperson of the Organizing Committee is appointed by the President of the Russian Federation, and first to be appointed was the Vice President – Sergey Prikhodko, the Government Chief of Staff.

The SPIEF Foundation becomes the Roscongress Foundation

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Foundation (abbreviated to SPIEF) was founded in March 2007 for the purpose of organizing and running the Forum. There is no publicly available information regarding the link between the SPIEF Foundation and the St. Petersburg Economic Forum International Foundation, which was founded in 1998. The official objectives of the Foundation are: * to organize SPIEF and other economic forums, roundtables, conferences, seminars, business meetings, presentations, and expos; * to enhance the effectiveness of Russia's economic policies; * to improve Russia's global image; * foster an environment conducive to cooperation between Russian and international leaders in the business and political communities. Anton Troyanov was the first person to serve as Director of the SPIEF Foundation. In April 2009, he was replaced by Alexander Stuglev, who had previously served as Deputy Director in charge of delegate relations. Prior to 2011, SPIEF Foundation headquarters were located in Pavilion 9 of the Lenexpo Exhibition Complex, inside the Marine Fleet Research and Development Institute building. In 2011, Pavilion 9 closed all but a handful of services located on the first floor, while the Foundation's core team moved to a new home at the Baltis Plaza Business Centre, located on

not far from Lenexpo. During the Forum, Pavilion 9 serves as the SPIEF operations centre. The Foundation is structured to include all the offices needed to organize events: accreditation, technical support, financial, legal, short-term employment, etc. As a result, the Foundation has branched out to organize other events not related to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. In 2011, the SPIEF Foundation was named sole state contractor for a wide range of services related to organizing and conducting events around Russia's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation chairmanship, with the exception of the summit held as part of the Forum. On December 4, 2015, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Foundation was renamed the Roscongress Foundation.

Forum venue

Since 2006, the Forum has been held at the Lenexpo Exhibition Complex, located on

in St. Petersburg (latitude 9°55′50″ north, longitude 30°14′00″ east). In 2007, a few months before the 11th SPIEF, Lenexpo unveiled the new Pavilion 8A, which would go on to host the Forum's plenary sessions. Most of the Forum's indoor and outdoor facilities are temporary structures which are dismantled once the event is over. SPIEF facilities at Lenexpo, since 2007: * Pavilion 3: outdoor café and event hall; * Pavilion 4: accreditation zone on the ground floor; café and three halls for hosting events on the first floor; * Pavilion 5: dining area and halls for hosting events; * Pavilion 6: press centre; * Pavilion 7: exhibition space for forum sponsors and partners; * Pavilion 8: halls for hosting events; * Pavilion 8A: plenary session hall for up to 2,800 people. Temporary partner pavilions located in the open-air sections of Lenexpo host various events, including presentations and cultural events. Expoforum 1

In 2016 SPIEF will take place at a new venue – the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre, located in Pulkovo Heights.

Transport for participants

Each year since 2007, the Forum's partners have included a major global auto manufacturer, which donates over 200 new executive-class cars for SPIEF participants. As a rule, these cars bear the Forum logo. Once the Forum is over, distributors sell these cars at a discount. Official SPIEF cars: * 2007 (11th SPIEF) –

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

; * 2008 (12th SPIEF) – BMW; * Since 2009 –

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

, which provided 300 cars in 2012 and 350 cars in 2013, 2014, and 2015. In 2015, 100 of the 350 cars provided by the company were the Mercedes-Maybach model, which went on sale in March of that year.

Cultural programme

In 2007, the organizers began to pay closer attention to the non-business part of the programme: cultural events taking place under the auspices of the forum. Some sources have suggested the cultural programme was initially developed for people accompanying forum participants (primarily spouses) who did not attend roundtables. Eventually, however, cultural events were incorporated into the main SPIEF programme. The majority of events on the SPIEF cultural programme are open only to Forum participants. Since the programme varies each year, many events are offered only once, with the notable exception of traditional private official receptions hosted by the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and the Organizing Committee. At the same time, in 2007 the Forum launched what would become traditional annual open-air concerts on

Palace Square Palace Square ( rus, Дворцо́вая пло́щадь, r=Dvortsovaya Ploshchad, p=dvɐˈrtsovəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ), connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersb ...

, performed by some of the world's most famous artists and designed to highlight SPIEF's social significance. Concerts held on

as part of SPIEF: * 2007 –

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, accompanied by the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra and Choir, conducted by

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company d ...

. * 2008 – concert by founding member of Pink Floyd Roger Waters (tickets for the event cost as much as RUB 15,000 ). * 2009 – concert by celebrated British band Duran Duran and American pop singer Anastacia. * 2010 – British electronic band Faithless with a presentation of their album, ''The Dance''. * 2011 – concert by British rock musician and actor Sting. * 2012 –

Dmitri Hvorostovsky Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Хворосто́вский, ; 16 October 1962 – 22 November 2017) was a Russian operatic baritone. Early life and education Hvorostovsky was born i ...

Sumi Jo Sumi Jo, OSI (; ; born 22 November 1962) is a South Korean lyric coloratura soprano known for her Grammy award-winning interpretations of the bel canto repertoire. Life and career Early life and education Jo was born Jo Su-gyeong in Chang ...

, and 12-year-old

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age. Since 2009, she has issued a platinum-selling EP and nine albums, including three ''Billboard'' 200 top 10 ...

share the stage for "A Bouquet of Opera". * 2013 – Celebrating the Classics: the quartet

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard. It also included bariton ...

and the Italian band Le Div4s perform with the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra. In 2014,

did not host a concert dedicated to the Forum. Instead, the

Ice Palace An ice palace or ice castle is a castle-like structure made of blocks of ice. These blocks are usually harvested from nearby rivers or lakes when they become frozen in winter. The first known ice palace (or, rather, '' ice house'', ледяной ...

hosted a SPIEF benefit showcase of international figure skating stars and medallists of the Sochi Winter Olympics. In 2015, the Forum also did not include a free concert for city residents.

References

External links

* *
SPIEF foto gallerySPIEF youtube video gallerywww.forumspb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spief International conferences Economy of Russia Annual events in Russia Events in Saint Petersburg International conferences in Russia