White nights in St. Petersburg

Every year during the “white nights” in June, Russia’s old capital St. Petersburg becomes a meeting place and a communication platform for Russian and international leaders.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is an annual flagship in the Russian government’s communication.

Selective media coverage
Russian media portrayed the forum as a successful opportunity for Russia to reach out to the world, without making any real concessions.

However, in a time of crisis, the Kremlin’s messages inevitably also find themselves subject to critical debate.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s wish to selectively engage with Russia was covered. At the same time, his statements that the EU does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and that the Minsk Accords need to be fully implemented if sanctions are to be lifted were carefully ignored by many Kremlin-loyal media.

“The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and you! Participate in something grand! Be in the team of the best!” – reads this poster advertising the annual event in Russia’s former capital.

Veteran opposition politician Grigory Yavlinsky noted on his blog the presence of Western leaders who “came, as it were, to use this opportunity to speak directly, and not just through the media, to the assembled Russian elite: Don’t expect anything new, have no such hopes. Polite conversations, lunches, dinners, panel debates – sure. But no exceptions will be made, nor will there be deviations from the policy of isolation and the sanctions.”

Criticism came not only from foreign leaders, but also from inside Russian society. On Facebook, opposition politician Vladimir Milov said that the Economic Forum is “an attempt to portray some sort of strategic perspectives and geopolitical greatness in the absence of such [perspectives and greatness]. [Russia is] in the worst crisis in 20 years and has no exit strategy out of it; […] the inability to build even the notorious Crimea bridge; […] Also worth noting: the complete absence of Chinese people on the two major sessions dedicated to strategic issues of energy development.”

A local TV station in Voronezh interviews pensioner Tatyana in a news report showing how senior citizens buy overdue bread as fresh products are unaffordable for them.

Queues for old bread
Opposition leader Alexey Navalny highlighted on his blog the contrast between President Putin’s message about Russia as an attractive place for international investors and a news item which had been broadcast the same week by the local TV station in Voronezh, showing how Russian senior citizens queue to buy overdue bread because they cannot afford to buy fresh products (see image above).

The original video was uploaded on Facebook where it was viewed 271,000 times and was shared almost 6,000 times.

The Kremlin sending mixed signals
In a comment, veteran think tanker Lilya Shevtsova concluded that there is an incompatibility between what she sees as the Forum’s main message, namely that Russian “wants to be friends” with the West again, and the “inability to give up anti-Westernism as a mechanism for mobilisation and legitimisation of power – because [Russia’s authorities] have no other instruments!

Being friends with the West while at the same time fighting with [the West] in the public consciousness requires a particularly sophisticated balancing act. Especially when the confrontation with the West both for the political class and for a part of society has become a way of life.”

(Images: Alexey Navalny’s blog)