This year’s Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was headlined “Prospects for the Global Economy: Time for Decisive Action”. President Vladimir Putin – now in his thirteenth year as the country’s leader – made a stimulus plan the centrepiece of his annual speech at the event. With slowing economic growth a primary concern, this year’s agenda focused on boosting economic activity and once more emerging from the global financial crisis. Despite the ambitious stimulus plan, the Russian government sent some conflicting signals to the business community. This article by FTI Consulting discusses what these signals might mean for the Russian economy and foreign investors.