The World Economic Forum in Davos starts today

On Sunday, May 22, the Davos Forum starts, for the first time since the collapse of the USSR without Russian oligarchs, businessmen and officials, notes Bloombergby posting the program of the event on the website.

The forum in Davos-Klosters will be held from 22 to 26 May. It will bring together businessmen and officials from all over the world, for the first time after a two-year break due to the pandemic. However, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 changed its composition, eliminating the presence of Russians.

Interesting writes. “European Truth”that in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of part of the Donbass, the official presence of the Russian Federation in Davos was somewhat reduced, but the Russian oligarchs did not lose their positions. In the context of Davos, they are known for their loud vodka and caviar parties crowded with forum guests. At the last such party in 2020, organized by the Russian bank VTB, WEF founder and executive head Klaus Schwab was spotted. That year, Russian oligarchs were the third largest group of billionaires on the forum.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Davos Forum played an important role for Russia. In 1996, several oligarchs agreed to pool their media resources and financial strength in support of Boris Yeltsin’s re-election campaign, which became known as the Davos Pact. And in 2018, Russia threatened the forum with a boycott after the US imposed sanctions against the oligarchs Viktor Vekselberg, Deripaska and Kostin. This year, the newspaper writes, Russia will appear at the meeting in a completely different context – the consequences of the war unleashed by it.

“Russian House” this year, through the efforts of the “Viktor Pinchuk Foundation”, will turn into the “Russian House of War Crimes”. There will be an exhibition about the crimes that were committed in Ukraine by Russian troops.

A group of Ukrainian officials will arrive in Davos, and Volodymyr Zelensky will make a keynote speech at the opening via videoconference.

According to the Swiss media, a full-scale invasion of the Russian Armed Forces into Ukraine will be the main topic for discussion. Among the announced guests is the former Special Representative of the US State Department for Ukraine, Kurt Volker.

The WEF meeting will also discuss geo-economic shocks, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, climate change on the planet, and the restoration of Ukraine’s destroyed infrastructure.

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