Tatarstan’s Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov turned out to the highest-ranking official at the Russian Economic Forum in London.
Photo: Valery Levitin
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Top Officials Boycott Russian Economic Forums
The 10th annual Russian Economic Forum closed in London on Tuesday with Russia’s top officials boycotting the event.
Apparently, the last-minute pullout of major Russian business leaders from London’s Russian Economic Forum was no accident. Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Sergey Bogdanchikov and Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev were among those who suddenly cited changes in plans after unofficial sources in the Kremlin reported that their presence in London would be unadvisable.
Tatarstan’s Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov turned out to the highest-ranking official at the forum, making a presentation of his region on the opening day.
Western businessmen, however, sounded surprisingly upbeat at the conference. Barclays Capital chairman Hans-Joerg Rudloff spoke highly of Russia’s economic progress since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, while noting the need for further change.
Russian speakers at the event were not as optimistic as their Western partners. Evgeny Chichvarkin, head of the country’s largest cell phone retail chain Evroset, called for a reform in taxation on hi-tech imports. Duma deputy Alexander Lebedev lambasted Frakov government’s economic policies but did not specify. A workshop featuring opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, Kommersant editor-in-chief Andrey Vasilyev and prominent analysts was the only politically charged event this year. Still, it bore little resemblance to heated discussions at previous London conferences.
Sergey Kolushev, president of the event’s organizer, Eventica, said he is sure that the Russian Economic Forum 2008 would attract special attention, all the more it is scheduled shortly after the presidential election in Russia.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 25, 2007
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