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And, surprise, Putin's protege is now preaching economics to world leaders, and offering Russian assistance. Who could have imagined this 10 years ago?

June 8, 2008

Russia Takes Critical Tone on Economy

By SOPHIA KISHKOVSKY

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — In his first major economic speech since becoming president, Dmitri A. Medvedev said Saturday that the world might be in the throes of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and that a newly revived Russia could offer solutions to a systemic crisis that underscored the United States’ economic shortcomings.

He opened with an indirect dig.

“Today, the center of our attention will be global changes in the financial systems, on commodities and food markets,” he said in an address in which he focused on the recent unnerving jump in international food and energy prices. “And, likewise, economic relations between various countries, including relations between the former leaders of international development, which are showing losses, and new players that are ensuring growing rates of economic growth.”

Mr. Medvedev, who was inaugurated on May 7, spoke at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual event since the 1990s that was thrust into the spotlight last year as Russia’s answer to rival forums held in Europe.

It was also a showcase for the former imperial capital of St. Petersburg, hometown of Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin and Mr. Medvedev. The forum opened on Friday evening with a free concert for city residents on Palace Square, in front of the Winter Palace. Roger Waters, formerly of Pink Floyd, performed “Dark Side of the Moon.”

This year’s forum, held at Lenexpo, near the Gulf of Finland, has attracted Russian oligarchs and international business leaders, including Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian metals and mining magnate, and Anthony B. Hayward, the chief executive of BP. Their joint venture, TNK-BP, one of Russia’s largest oil producers, has been embroiled in controversy over reports that Gazprom, the Kremlin-controlled natural gas giant, is stepping up pressure to buy a major stake in the company.

In a carefully written keynote address that underscored his knowledge of corporate terminology, Mr. Medvedev spoke of “economic egoism” and “economic nationalism,” and he made specific reference to the United States overreaching its economic capabilities.

“It turned out to be an illusion that one country, even the most powerful, could take upon itself the role of global government,” he said. “Moreover, namely, the dissonance between the formal role of the United States of America in the world economy and its actual capabilities was one of the central causes of the current crisis. However big the American market, and however reliable the American financial system, it’s not capable of replacing global goods and financial markets.”

A panel of officials, experts and entrepreneurs responded to Mr. Medvedev’s words in a session that immediately followed his speech.

The American commerce secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, who addressed the gathering as part of the panel, said that the “idea that growth means taking away from others” reminds him of his birthplace, Cuba, a remark that would resonate with a Russian audience.

But comments from Aleksei L. Kudrin, Russia’s finance minister, probably struck even closer to the hearts of the billionaires in the hall. He noted Friday’s tumble on Wall Street and the spike in oil prices as an example of the instantaneous impact of global financial markets.

“I think those here have lost hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said, addressing the packed hall.

In one of the forum’s more interesting non sequiturs, which continued a line of Russian foreign policy that has been emphasized in recent days, Mr. Kudrin also questioned the continuing existence of NATO.

“Global institutions are not reacting quickly enough to today’s challenges,” he said. “But, of course, I don’t mean institutions such as NATO. I think such institutions should become history.”

On Friday, Mr. Medvedev warned President Viktor A. Yushchenko of Ukraine and President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia against seeking NATO membership.

Mr. Putin has not appeared at this year’s forum.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company