The St. Petersburg Economic Forum was, in fact, a rather successful attempt by Vladimir Putin to rally countries and various individuals around the idea that now is the time to define a new world order.
It was also a clear message to Iran and China that the West has failed to crush Russia and is therefore not as strong as it wants to appear.
The forum covered a wide range of topics, but it lacked a common perspective on real economic issues. On the contrary, it was a "fake news economic forum" that portrayed Russia as unrealistically successful and prosperous.
It was also a manifesto from Vladimir Putin saying that he would not surrender but would go on the offensive against the West in cunning guerrilla fighter style, to which he invited the guests he had assembled.
Coincidences are not allowed
It is no coincidence that the Russian military fleet is travelling to Cuba shortly after the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.
It is also no coincidence that several people from the Moscow establishment, including former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, have said that Russia will now arm all of the world's forces fighting America.
By participating in the panel discussion together with Sergey Karaganov, Putin once again wanted to give the impression that the use of nuclear weapons is still on the table
Professor Sergey Karaganov, a former adviser to Putin and Yeltsin and one of the influential propagandists who constantly advocate the use of tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine, was chosen to moderate the panel in which Putin participated, sending a very clear message.
By participating in the panel discussion together with Sergey Karaganov, Putin once again wanted to give the impression that the use of nuclear weapons is still on the table, although he and others in the top government officially claim the opposite.
Sanctions do not work
The forum aimed to showcase Russia as neither isolated nor a pariah. In a way, that is true.
At the moment, things are not looking so bad for Russia, although compared to what Russia presented at the forum, circumstances are much worse.
So far, the country has been able to maintain and circumvent some of the Western sanctions, while the indecisiveness of Ukraine's Western allies has enabled Putin to convince Russian allies and the Russian people that victory will inevitably be on their side.
A Russian insider said that the West, particularly America, had neither the courage nor the brains to finish off Russia when they could in the early 1990s and the spring of 2022
At the economic forum in St. Petersburg, a Russian insider said that the West, particularly America, had neither the courage nor the brains to finish off Russia when they could in the early 1990s and the spring of 2022. "We will never give them such an opportunity again. Moreover, we now know how to finish them. China, Iran, and the global South are with us," said this high-ranking person in the Moscow establishment.
During the panel discussions at the forum, there was a lot of talk about how to further circumvent Western sanctions. The participation of some guests from the West served the organisers to appeal to the Western audience by falsely claiming that the sanctions were harmless for Russia and, on the contrary, harmed the economies of Western countries.
Kindness towards guests
Guests such as former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter and Karin Kneissl, the former Austrian foreign minister, attended the economic forum in St. Petersburg with a large number of Russian officials, foreign authoritarian leaders, or their representatives.
Russia also hosted many radical right and radical left influencers, bloggers, and organisations from the West, counting on the fact that from St. Petersburg they would give their audiences impressions of Russia's strength and the rightness of its desire to change the global order.
Thousands of elite escort girls from all over Russia came to Saint Petersburg, where they were able to earn an average of 3 million roubles in just a few days, which is equivalent to just over 30 thousand dollars
Unlike participants from super-wealthy countries like Saudi Arabia, banks based in a loyal Russian or neutral country rewarded most of the important guests from the West, South America, or Africa who attended the forum with luxury gifts, cryptocurrency reimbursements, or even money transfers to a debit card. Representatives from these banks also attended the forum.
During these days, thousands of elite escort girls from all over Russia came to Saint Petersburg, where they were able to earn an average of 3 million roubles in just a few days, which is equivalent to just over 30 thousand dollars.
This amount corresponds to the annual salary of an experienced Moscow subway operator who regularly works overtime, or three times the annual salary of a Moscow police detective.
On such occasions, a gift of goodwill in the form of "Russian beauty" is a common and "generous" gift, often offered by Russian politicians or businessmen to their loyal and friendly Western interlocutors.
The economic forum in St. Petersburg revolved around the concept of a new world order, where everything that has been impossible until now because of liberal restrictions and limitations is now possible because, in this new world, only the strongest have the authority to establish rules and break them if they no longer align with their current interests.
Since Vladimir Putin is a predator through and through, he believes that now is the time to attack the West before the West regroups and finally realises that the decision to spare Vladimir Putin and Russia was not the West's most optimal strategy.
