Russia Closes St. Petersburg Forum Touting Billions in Deals and a Sanctions-Proof Order

Russia concluded its St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Saturday with a message of endurance under Western sanctions. State agency TASS reported that participants signed agreements worth $90.43 billion, with more than 24,500 people attending from over 100 countries. Russian presidential adviser Anton Kobyakov, who delivered the figures, also announced the dates for the 2027 edition, signaling that Moscow intends to keep the forum as a permanent fixture of its outreach.

The announced figure is the highest in a range of estimates. Independent and Russian financial estimates earlier in the week put the value of expected deals at roughly $81 billion to $83 billion, or about 6.4 to 6.5 trillion rubles, concentrated in infrastructure, energy and artificial intelligence. Saudi Arabia attended as the official guest country, and officials promoted long-horizon projects including a design agreement for a tunnel linking Russia and Alaska beneath the Bering Strait. Such announcements are easier to sign than to finance, and their real economic weight will depend on capital that has not yet been committed.

The forum also served as a venue for Russia's alignment with the non-Western world. President Vladimir Putin praised China's growth and rising global influence and emphasized the personal rapport between the two countries' leaders, as relayed by Indonesia's Antara. The emphasis on Gulf, Chinese and South Asian partners reflects a deliberate strategy of routing commerce through blocs that Western sanctions cannot easily reach.

The more revealing story is monetary rather than the total value of deals. Russia's push to settle trade outside the dollar, deepen ties with energy buyers and court sovereign capital from the Gulf is a measured step in the slow construction of a multipolar payment system, one that reduces the reach of Western financial controls even if it does not yet replace them.