The informal meeting between Vladimir Putin and George Bush prior to the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg began in an unusual way. Putin showed to his American colleague his first car, a thirty-year-old Zaporozhets, the most bare-bones specimen of Soviet auto-making. The two world leaders examined the car’s exterior and looked inside the vehicle. Fortunately, the presidents did not go as far as actually driving the car.

The warm and friendly relationship between Russia’s and America’s leaders has existed for quite some time. These firm bands of friendship notwithstanding, some believed that it would all change in St. Petersburg – that George Bush would put the Russian President “in his proper place” and publicly criticize Putin. Nothing like that happened.

Looking at the achievements of the Group of 8 Summit in Russia, many policy analysts worldwide agree that Russia is once again turning into a superpower. Putin, they hold, is the one that guaranteed Russia’s economic growth and heightened its political influence on the world stage. Political commentators also note that, quite surprisingly, many of the world leaders in attendance at the G8 meeting acted as mere observers. Vladimir Putin and George Bush led the dialogue on matters of substance. Newspaper headlines cried out: “Russia and America will set a new course for the world.”

The economic might of today’s Russia is one of the main elements of President Putin’s triumph. With annual Gross Domestic Product reaching some 900 billion dollars, Russia has firmly ensconced itself as one of the leaders for growth among the developing economy countries. The figures of Russia’s securities market growth particularly strike the West. From 2001, its total growth amounted to 1106%. Moscow is all the more certain of its bright future because raw materials prices remain high and the country experienced seven consecutive years of economic growth.         

The new economic reality makes Russian-American business cooperation even more necessary – not only for global corporations, but also for small and medium businesses. We address the Russian-American Business magazine particularly to that latter group.           

Let us together discover the great opportunities of joint partnership.