Billed as “a place where unusual individuals who are capable of influencing the fate of Russia and the world can meet,” the annual Russia Forum wrapped up in Moscow over the weekend, with participating economists calling on the Putin regime to take immediate, concrete steps to encourage investment in Russia.
At a “Russia 2018” panel, New Economic School Rector Sergei Guriev said the Russian government could send an important signal to the investment community by releasing its most famous political prisoner:
To really prove that the Russian state is interested in a better business climate, first of all, they should release Khodorkovsky and fire all of the executives that are involved in the Magnitsky case. This will prove that the Russian government is interested in improving the investment climate.
Also on the panel with Guriev was former finance minister Alexei Kudrin, who called the current political system “obsolete” and in need of much reform in order to build a new economy. Kudrin applauded the fact that political competition has grown in the last few months. “That’s a good sign” for the economy down the road, he said.
