Quo Vadis, Russia?

Yevgeny Volk /

ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA. JUNE 6, 2009. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting with international bankers and business leaders during the 2009 St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

MOSCOW – The June 4-6 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum shed a spotlight on Russia’s economic situation, clearly indicating that the Russian leadership is uncertain about the scope of the economic downturn and how to deal with it.

President Dmitry Medvedev’s much anticipated keynote address was a great disappointment. He did the best he could to avoid offering precise assessments of the present and future state of Russia’s economy, instead reiterating the Kremlin’s ambitious old ideas. (more…)