Kremlin creating a new image of Russia

The Kremlin is set on creating a new image of Russia for foreign investors, one where there is no room for bad stereotypes.

The Ministry of Economic Development has been attributed the main responsibility for this image “makeover” and Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s largest investment banks, will be the key ambassador of this project, in cooperation with Sberbank, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), VTB and others.

Goldman Sachs’s role will be to work with international organizations that make up the ratings of investment attractiveness, ensure that Russian official representatives participate in international key investment events and to produce a monthly report on instances that somehow influence the way Russia is perceived abroad.

Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of RDIF, stated that investors will start to think differently about Russia once they hear the country’s figures. He claims that very few are aware that, in the last 13 years, the average salary in Russia has grown 14-fold (to 857 dollars), the assets of the banking system- 26-fold (up to 1.529 trillion dollars), the foreign exchange reserves – 44-fold (up to 528 billion dollars), while the national debt has decreased by 8 times (up to 11% of GDP), and inflation - 6 times (to 6.6%). "Over the past five years, the Russian middle class has tripled, and we should be proud about this" he added.

RDIF’s CEO also noted that whilst Europe is showing no growth and in the US it is minimal, investors should therefore be looking at the immense opportunities they have in Russia. 

Goldman Sachs, one of the largest investors in the Russian economy, is seen as the best sponsor of Russia's new image maker due to the organisation's international reputation. Belyakov, the vice head of the Ministry of Economic Development, believes that Goldman Sachs' role is essential because, no matter how good a product may be, “you will never sell it if it has a bad reputation".

And this is exactly what RusBase’s conception was funded upon: we want to eliminate the lack of transparency in covering the Russian VC market and expose the wide and interesting variety of Russian startups to international investors. RusBase's database covers all major investments and funds, but we also offer bespoke services and consultancy to our partners. Our mission is to be a gateway platform as well as a service to ensure that investments in Russia and Russian startups are a success.