As economy falters, St. Petersburg Economic Forum is increasingly a propaganda forum

Russia's annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, set to begin Wednesday, has shifted its focus from economics to propaganda amid a struggling economy. President Vladimir Putin is expected to deliver a lengthy speech, which the Kremlin has described as "substantive," a common descriptor for his addresses.

This year's forum notably includes a high number of far-right figures and controversial personalities, both Russian and international. Among them is U.S. social media influencer Candace Owens, known for promoting conspiracy theories, and European far-right politicians like Diana Iovanovici Șoșoacă, who has made territorial claims on Ukraine, and Fernand Kartheiser, who openly supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kartheiser was recently expelled from a European Parliament group for visiting Moscow.

The forum serves as a key propaganda event for Russia and its supporters. Other attendees include former U.S. intelligence officer Scott Ritter, who frequently appears in Russian media as a U.S. military policy expert but was convicted of sex offenses against minors in the U.S. in 2011. Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chairman of the U.S. Federal Arts and Architecture Council, will be the first official U.S. representative at the forum since 2017.

Organizers claim representatives from over 130 countries and regions will attend. This is the fifth forum since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions. Russia's economy, heavily reliant on raw materials, saw a sharp slowdown to about 1% growth last year, with a projected modest 0.4% growth for the current year, despite a reported 4.9% growth in 2024.