How Russia Sees Itself in the World
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Ever since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the majority of Western countries have been working to marginalize the country by imposing sanctions and moving away from dependence on Russian oil. This week, most NATO countries agreed to increase their defense spending, a move they said was to counter threats by Russia. But the Kremlin is eager to show that it still has plenty of allies globally and to quash talk of a possible economic recession at home.

NPR's Charles Maines takes us to one place the Russian government is putting its best face forward for the world to see, an international conference in St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg's International Economic Forum has long been a place for Russia to court high-profile Western investors and politicians.

Yet with Europe and the U.S. largely shunning the event over the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine, the forum has taken on a different purpose, showing Russia still has plenty of friends. You cannot fail to recognize reality. Alexei Pushkov is a member of Russia's upper house of parliament. He points to faces from Asia, the Middle East and Africa as proof of Russia's enduring appeal. The fact that the forum is taking place every year, in spite of all the sanctions and all the campaigns that are conducted against Russia...

in the West. It's confirmation that the idea of isolating Russia is a very weird idea. And the forum is the embodiment of the failure of this policy.

This is Russia as it would like to be seen, a center of culture, history, and even now opportunity, a global power very much building a future on its own terms. Humanoid robots mingled among the crowds of state bureaucrats, TV propagandists, and the Kremlin elite. Guests from 140 countries joined, including from Afghanistan,

with the Taliban doing their best to ignore women in slinky dresses. And seemingly everywhere, ceremonies and handshakes to mark business deals, despite signs not all as well with the Russian economy. In a moment that grabbed headlines, the Kremlin's economic development minister, Maxim Ryashetnikov, acknowledged the country was on the verge of a recession during a policy roundtable. I didn't predict it, I said we were on the verge.

I didn't say we would have a recession, he quickly added. I said we could if we don't make the right decisions.

And about those decisions. Russia's central bank, once credited with saving the economy from Western sanctions, now faces growing criticism. Even prominent government officials argue bank policies such as sky-high interest rates are choking economic growth. A United Nations report also found foreign investment in Russia at its lowest level in nearly a quarter century, a sign that outsiders, too, see Russia's future as less than a sure bet. We're trying to do some

Economic development deals, they have a lot of things that we want. In recent months, this was late February, President Trump has repeatedly suggested a new era of economic relations with Russia could be in the offing, creating hopes of sanctions relief and the return of American investors into the Russian market.

But some notable Russian lawmakers say that's premature for now. My name is Maria Butina. I'm the deputy of the state Yuma, well known as a former prisoner. Butina served a year and a half in a U.S. federal prison back in 2019, convicted for failing to declare herself an agent of the Russian government.

She says her experiences in the U.S. taught her something most Russians fail to understand. Trump's campaign promises to improve relations apply, but won't happen overnight. It took me a certain time, including time in prison, to get it. Well, now I'm trying to explain it to my co-patriots, saying, like, look,

They might say this much, but if they work in this direction, this is very good hope. But on a key issue impacting those relations, Ukraine, compromise seemed in short supply, including among some foreigners. I left Austria with two suitcases and two dogs. I met with Karen Kneisel, the former foreign minister of Austria, who currently lives in Russia working at a Kremlin-sponsored think tank.

She got in hot water back home almost seven years ago when she got married while serving as Austria's top diplomat and Russian President Vladimir Putin made an appearance dancing arm in arm with the bride. These days, she argues Russia is too forgiving in its efforts to repair relations with the West. I must say the Russian kindness in terms of let's be friends again.

Let's normalize everything again. All this is quite amazing, and my attitude toward that, it's not the time to be so kind. And then there was the guest of honor of this year's event. In the forum's keynote session, President Putin said Ukraine could accept Russia's current territorial demands or face further losses in the future, citing an old folk saying. There, where many Russian soldiers are, they are ours.

Anywhere a Russian soldier sets foot, the land is ours, said Putin.

The Kremlin leader dismissed accusations Russia was a threat to Europe, but he was joined on stage by leaders and officials from Indonesia, China, Bahrain and South Africa, who all endorsed the central theme of the forum. The world is at a crucial moment of change, with political and economic might shifting from the West to new centers of power in Asia, the Global South and, of course, Russia.

Yet some argue the Kremlin's new battle with the West has been damaging to both sides. You know, it's a big loss. It's a big loss for Russia, a big loss for Europe. A. Chakrapani is with the Indian Business Alliance in Russia. Chakrapani says there's only one true winner in this new version of the Cold War. Brother, you should understand very simple. Whatever the West is doing is making powerful China. It's China's world and the rest of us just live in it, he explains with a shrug. Just maybe, he adds, a good topic for next year's forum.

Charles Mainz, NPR News, St. Petersburg, Russia. That's the state of the world from NPR. Thanks for listening.

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