Our Journal traditionally covers the Forum's highlights.
The Forum's press center opened at 7 a.m. and closed... well, there were so many events to cover and broadcast that such a concept simply wasn't possible.
The St. Petersburg Economic Forum is an event for those who feel confident in the present tense and master the art of simultaneously maintaining grammatical norms and the harmony of being present here and now, while remaining organic in the vocabulary and space of the future.
About the main meanings
The central event of the SPIEF-2025 is, of course, the plenary session featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin. The head of state devoted his speech to issues of politics, economics, and national security.
The President noted a pressing process in the modern world order that is taking shape before our eyes: the construction of a multipolar world: "We strive to ensure that global development is balanced. We strive to ensure that this development meets the interests of as many countries as possible, and that a multipolar world order, a multipolar world structure, is established."
Photo: Press Service of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation / kremlin.ru
Russia in the New World
At the Forum, journalists witnessed the filming of an episode of the "New World" media project.
The project's author, Marina Kim, invited the creators of the new history textbooks, MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov and Vladimir Medinsky, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation, to participate in the discussion.
Marina Kim, both as a mother of three and as a journalist and public figure, noted that it is especially important now to counter the Western narrative and to honestly and objectively present Russian history, especially to the younger generation.
Vladimir Medinsky's words about the updated unified history textbook's aim to unite people and nations, including on issues of the Soviet legacy in the CIS, resonated particularly strongly at the International Economic Forum. He also reported that copies of the new textbook had been presented to the ministries of education of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, all of which were part of the Soviet Union at one point, so that specialists fr om these countries could assess the objectivity of the presented facts about the contributions of their peoples to common history.
The main feature of the new textbooks is their interactivity, offering unlimited access to additional information using QR codes located on their pages. The books contain links to archival documents, museum materials, documentaries, and other sources. The authors have done everything possible to ensure that students learn authentic history, without distortions or subjective interpretations.
These textbooks will be useful not only for students but also for adults, especially those who have dedicated their lives to raising children. The "Conversations about Important Things" held in schools and kindergartens across the country, thanks to the new competencies of teachers, will significantly enrich the curriculum for educating Russian citizens and patriots of their homeland.
Incidentally, thanks to the multimedia links, traffic to the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library website has already increased 100-fold.
Dialogue of generations
The President's address placed considerable emphasis on youth. Emphasizing the state's interest in literate young professionals raised in traditional Russian values, the President noted: "A successful start and demand in the labor market determine a young person's future professional career, their place in society, and largely influence their desire to start a family, care for their parents, and raise their children."
It is fr om the family, from kindergarten, at a very early age, that the new person is formed, a life for which politicians, businessmen, and educators today create the conditions for their lives. The Forum is essentially about this. Incidentally, the organizers noted a particularly active youth audience this year: representatives from more than 220 universities and educational institutions expressed interest in participating.
Journalists identified at least three significant events for the youth audience.
The first was the session "Dialogue of Generations: How Goals, Decisions, and Planning Horizons Are Changing," which took the form of a dialogue with the audience entitled "30 Questions for a Billionaire." Three entrepreneurs shared their success stories in the context of changing technologies and social phenomena. The speakers touched not only on the evolution of the business environment but, most importantly, shared their personal assessments of their own business processes, the challenges of overcoming real-world problems, ideas for inspiration, and crisis management algorithms. Participants in the dialogue included: Vlad Kuertov, co-founder of Majestic RP; Yuri Maksimov, co-founder of the Cyberus Cybersecurity Development Fund; Alexey Mordashov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PAO Severstal; CEO of ZAO Severgroup, founder of the "Road Home" charitable foundation for orphans; and author of some fascinating theses, some of which are listed below. On personal motivator: "There's some kind of inner drive: you do it because you can't do otherwise. In my opinion, this may be the only true motivator for someone who wants to achieve high results and goals: they must move toward their dreams." On money: "I recently read a quote from Rockefeller: 'If you want to make money, you'll never have it.' That's true. You shouldn't want money, but rather success, advancement, and that's what keeps you moving forward." On self-development: "Our lives are so dynamic and so stressful that you constantly need to remain competitive, and to do that, you need to meet new people, seek out new ideas, and come into contact with innovations." "It's very important to read, watch, and think about many other things. And not necessarily about other industries, but about other parts of life, about culture, art. All the right ideas, as experience shows, emerge at the intersection of everything."
The second event that attracted a large number of participants and attracted attention was a meeting between media students and the Minister of Education and Science, Valery Falkov. The key word in this lively, dynamic, information-rich, and emotionally charged dialogue was "open."
Photo: Vladislav Babich
Another youth event, skillfully directed by the Forum organizer, Roscongress, and executed with the help of partner construction companies, generated great interest among both participants and those who couldn't resist. Young designers were asked to design—or rather, formulate a concept for the development of a comfortable urban space, taking into account the needs of three target audiences: schoolchildren, teenagers, young adults, and parents with children under three. The presentation of their projects was accompanied by enthusiastic comments, active idea generation, and applause—just like at a real premiere.
The Soul of Russia and the Creative Ideas of the Regions
The speeches by the President, business, and government representatives vividly highlighted new, rapidly growing segments and the skills that will be in demand in the near future. One of the most important is creative thinking.
To test our readiness, we are embarking on a journey through the Forum's venues, delving into magically alluring virtual spaces.
The "Soul of Russia" project premiered at SPIEF, showcasing the creative potential of the regions and their dialogue in the creative industries. Sovereignty based on national identity is today considered the key factor in sustainable development, and a shared cultural code is considered the guarantor of economic and social stability. This explains the increased attention paid to the creative sector.
One of the regions presented a very unusual exhibit from its museum of creative contemporary art. We really enjoyed it.
The "Soul of Russia" exhibition pavilion showcased world-famous folk art forms — Gzhel, Khokhloma, and others—as interpreted by contemporary artists. The exhibition was particularly valuable for its immersion into the world of folk ornaments — those very symbols that hold the cultural code of entire generations. The pavilion served as a true bridge between the past and the present, showcasing the richness of Russia's multinational culture. Here, visitors could learn about the traditions of the 190 peoples and ethnic groups living in the country, see how their customs intertwine, and see how centuries-old traditions are preserved in the modern world.
Gazpromneft presented the "Terrabyte" composition, which became the Forum's iconic art object. Visitors could not only admire its exquisite forms but also immerse themselves in the content, exploring a reconstruction of our planet's interior.
For all four days, mighty Atlanteans, "invited" to Gazprom, securely supported the composition of 28 exquisitely curved pipes.
The Bashkortostan exhibit amazed Forum participants with its height and scale. A six-meter-tall, shimmering gold figure of a beekeeper bear in "honey armor" was intended by its creators to represent strength, power, diligence, and hospitality. Bees swarmed tirelessly around the bear, further enhancing the creative project's narrative.
Alfa-Bank surprised and delighted visitors with an installation of books, which were distributed to anyone who wanted to expand their knowledge of starting and maintaining a business.
Visitors were greeted by mascots representing various sports.
Artificial Intelligence and Visitors from the Future
As always, there was plenty of future, and not just in projects and presentations, but right there: you could play with a metal dog, hold hands with a robot, step into a space wh ere time instantly loses its traditional significance as a unit of measurement for life: there, your consciousness designs and builds other worlds in seconds.
How can one not recall the speech by the Forum's guest, the iconic Chinese futurologist and author of the collection "AI-2041: Ten Visions of Our Future," Chen Qiufan, who declared that "the future lies in collaboration between humans and machines, artificial superintelligence, and AI agents." And how can one not agree that science fiction is practically seamlessly blending into the realities of our time, and that it seems we already need a new protocol for interaction—between humans and machines.
Another project currently being developed with the help of artificial intelligence was presented at the Forum: a unified electronic tourist map of St. Petersburg. The authors claim that the map will include all routes, services, and benefits, and that three more regions will eventually join the project to create a "Silver Necklace" and a new tourist route dedicated to the 225th anniversary of A.S. Pushkin's birth.
But while AI is implementing this idea, we walked the route we had created with our hearts.
We paid tribute to the poet's memory at 12 Moika Street...
Then, of course, to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood and St. Isaac's Cathedral...
Again and again, I wanted to thank Montferrand for his great work, to gaze at it, to breathe it in, to lose myself...
The route to Nevsky Prospect runs along Malaya Morskaya Street, and here's a revelation: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky spent his final days at No. 13. Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Konstantinovich Blucher and Russian ballet star Galina Sergeevna Ulanova also lived here at various times. And building No. 17 was home to Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol for three whole years…
On Nevsky Prospekt, a bookstore is a must: it's a tradition. Before stepping into a world you absolutely cannot live without, you smile knowingly at the text in the display case about "what" and "wh ere": well, I'll think about that tomorrow in Moscow...
Thank you, Peter, for this Forum, full of ideas, emotions, and encounters, for new friends and a unique drive.
Disappointments? Well, maybe just a few: for example, Anatoly Wasserman, who knows everything about everything, when asked what advice he could give to humanity in general, and to parents and teachers in particular, regarding the upbringing of preschool-aged children, declined to answer categorically and succinctly: "Not my area of expertise!!!"
And really, what are we supposed to do? We can handle it ourselves, especially since very soon, on August 9th and 10th, the largest forum and dialogue for preschool professionals and parents, "ORIYENTIRY DETSTVA 5.0," will be held at VDNKh in Moscow. Admission is free, and registration is required on the website of the International Pedagogical Academy of Preschool Education. There are over 60 events and activities. We'll meet and discuss all the most important topics at VDNKh in Pavilion No. 57, called "Russia – My History."
We're leaving SPIEF for just a year, and registration for the 2026 Forum will open this fall.
Text, photos, and impressions by Anna Yelanskaya and Elfiya Dorofeeva
