Russian officials and media outlets assert that German enterprises are returning to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. However, the question remains: who is actually attending Russia's premier event this year?
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which commenced on June 3, marks the fifth edition held since Russia initiated its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Prior to the war, the forum served as a platform for finalizing major investment agreements with international corporations. At that time, the European Union was Russia's primary economic partner, and the event drew prominent Western politicians, business leaders, and top executives.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, major Western economies reduced their engagement, and the forum's most high-profile international attendees have increasingly originated from nations that are no longer among Moscow's key economic allies.
This year, the leaders of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Samia Suluhu Hassan, are scheduled to appear on a joint panel alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Is a German delegation present in St. Petersburg?
In the days leading up to the forum, Russian media have highlighted an alleged resurgence of German businesses at SPIEF. Nevertheless, the companies participating appear to have minimal ties to Germany.
According to Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation with foreign nations, Russia anticipates welcoming "a large delegation of German companies" in St. Petersburg.
Russian business daily Kommersant also reported that "Germany is sending an official business delegation" to the event for the first time in several years. Yet, in reality, no such delegation exists.
Hypermarkets and Germany's Globus Holding
Among the forum participants, as per the official agenda, is Thomas Bruch, a shareholder in the German retail chain operator Globus and one of Germany's wealthiest individuals. Bruch is ranked 2,386th on the 2026 Forbes Billionaires List, with an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion (€1.4 billion).
Bruch is not attending the forum on behalf of Germany's Globus Holding, a company spokesperson informed DW. He further emphasized that since January 2025, the company's Russian stores are no longer part of Globus Holding, which operates supermarkets in Germany and the Czech Republic.
In St. Petersburg, Bruch is representing Russian Hyperglobus, which runs hypermarkets exclusively in Russia, the spokesperson stated. He added that the purpose of Bruch's participation in SPIEF is "to maintain business contacts and exchange views with representatives of the business community and government agencies."
Russian milk producer Ekoniva
The business trajectory of another German participant, Stefan Dürr, is entirely tied to Russia.
His Ekoniva Group ranks among the country's largest milk producers. In 1989, while a student at the University of Bayreuth, Dürr undertook an internship at an agricultural enterprise near Moscow and later began cultivating buckwheat and millet in Russia.
In an interview with the Financial Times last year, Dürr stated that Russia's 2014 embargo on EU products, imposed in response to Western sanctions following the annexation of Crimea, was one of the key drivers of his company's growth.
The businessman himself advised Putin to implement the ban, according to a 2023 report by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung. In addition to being German, Dürr has held Russian citizenship since 2013, as per numerous reports.
A spokesperson for Ekoniva confirmed that Dürr is taking part in the St. Petersburg forum. However, he did not respond to DW's inquiries about the purpose of his visit.
Oil terminal in St. Petersburg hit by Ukrainian drones
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Industrial equipment and engineering
Another entrepreneur listed in the SPIEF program is Leo Eppinger. According to the business verification platform SPARK Interfax, he also holds dual Russian and German citizenship.
In 2016, after graduating from a university in Moscow, Eppinger became head of the Russian office of the German-Swedish joint venture Metalock Engineering, based on his profiles on Facebook and Xing.
Following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Metalock Engineering ceased all collaboration with its Russian subsidiary and currently "has no business relations with Masterlock, the company founded by Mr. Eppinger," a spokesperson for Metalock Engineering told DW.
The company Masterlock Engineering he referred to is registered in the Moscow region. It describes itself as a "full successor" of Metalock Rus, the Russian branch of German-Swedish Metalock, and focuses on repairing industrial equipment in Russia and the CIS countries, according to its website.
The Russian branch of Metalock Engineering was rebranded as the similarly named Masterlock Engineering in 2024, their website states. Leo Eppinger did not respond to DW's questions.
Polina Sharova is another confirmed forum participant. She owns Yekaterinburg-based Hermes-Ural, a manufacturer of industrial equipment.
Sharova's only connection to Germany is the acquisition of the Russian assets of German industrial group Viessmann Climate Solutions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Neither Hermes-Ural nor Viessmann responded to DW's request for comment.
What remains of Russian-German trade?
The St. Petersburg Economic Forum is hosting several lawmakers from Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), who serve in the European Parliament, the German Bundestag, and regional parliaments across Germany.
The owner of Germany's daily newspaper Berliner Zeitung, Holger Friedrich, is also attending the forum. Meanwhile, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was seen in Moscow on the eve of the forum, according to German broadcaster ntv. It remains uncertain whether he will attend the event in St. Petersburg.
The makeup of what Russian officials and media describe as a "German delegation" provides an accurate picture of the current state of economic relations between the two countries.
Sanctions, corporate exits, and an energy decoupling from Russia have taken their toll. In 2025, bilateral trade fell below €10 billion, a sharp decline from nearly €60 billion in 2021.
The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce, a Moscow-based lobby group with no ties to the German government, declined to comment on the German participants at the meeting, citing DW's status in Russia.
As part of its crackdown on independent media, Russia designated DW as an "undesirable" organization in December. Any cooperation with such an organization is a criminal offense under Russian law.