Germans at Russia's SPIEF: Who's really there?

Published 7 June 2026 · europe

Russian officials and media claim German businesses are comming back to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum despite the war in Ukraine. But who is actually

Russian officials and media claim German businesses are comming back to the St. Petersburg Economic Forum despite the war in Ukraine. But who is actually attending Russia's flagship event this year? This year's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which opened on June 3, is the fifth to be held since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Before the war, the forum served as a venue for signing major investment agreements with foreign companies. Back then, the European Union was Russia's key economic partner, and the forum attracted prominent Western politicians, business leaders and senior executives. But after Russia invaded Ukraine, major Western economies scaled back ties and the forum's highest-profile foreign attendees have increasingly come from countries that are no longer among Moscow's key economic partners. This year, the leaders of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Samia Suluhu Hassan, are set to share the stage at a joint panel with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Is there a German delegation in St. Petersburg? Something that has made headlines in Russian media in the days leading up to the forum though is an alleged return of German businesses to SPIEF. However, the companies attending the event appear to have very little connection to Germany. According to Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, Kirill Dmitriev, Russia is looking forward to 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 many years.

But in reality, there is no such delegation. Security will be tight at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum after Ukraine launched a drone attack on the opening day of the event Image: Stringer/REUTERS Hypermarkets and Germany's Globus Holding Among the forum attendees, according to the official program, is Thomas Bruch, a shareholder in the German retail chain operator Globus and one of Germany's wealthiest businessmen. 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 participating in the forum on behalf of Germany's Globus Holding, its spokesperson told DW. He also 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 operates hypermarkets solely in Russia, the spokesperson said. He added that the aim 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 path of another German participant, Stefan Dürr, is completely linked to Russia. His Ekoniva Group is one of 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 said Russia's 2014 embargo on EU products, imposed in response to Western sanctions after the annexation of Crimea, was one of the biggest drivers of his company's growth.