By Douglas Busvine
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has gone from bust to boom in less than a decade to become one of the world's most dynamic emerging markets.
Since the devaluation and default of 1998, Russia's gross domestic product has surged to $1 trillion, its economy is growing at a clip of over 7 percent and an expanding middle class is enjoying prosperity unimaginable in the Soviet era.
But, reflecting the national emblem of the two-headed eagle, the resurgence of the world's largest country has fuelled a new assertiveness that has unnerved the West.
Gas supply cuts to Europe, the unsolved murder in London of a Russian ex-security agent and murky Kremlin intrigues all make Russia as hard to read now as the Soviet Union when Churchill called it "a riddle wrapped inside a mystery inside an enigma".
Over a dozen top executives and policy makers will help unravel the mystery at the first Reuters Russia Investment Summit, from September 10-11, in a series of exclusive interviews.
Will Russia stay open to investors after what promises to be a carefully orchestrated succession to President Vladimir Putin next year? Will it be a fast-forward path to growth -- or more a case of 'back to the future'?
"Everyone wants to see a smooth transition," said Roland Nash, head of research at Renaissance Capital. "But in today's Russia, having a strategy and implementing it are two different things."
Although there are several presidential contenders, none is as popular as Putin, and he is likely to retain vast influence even after voters elect a successor in March 2008. Continued...
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| Global Environment | Oct 06 - 8, 2008 | Energy |
| Autos II | Sep 30 - Oct 01, 2008 | Hotels/Casinos |
| Restructuring | Sep 22 - 26, 2008 | Financial Services/Exchanges |
| Autos | Sep 15 - 17, 2008 | Autos |
| Russia Investment | Sep 08 - 9, 2008 | Country Summits |
