Is It True That 'Nobody Wants To Invest In Russia?

Moscow. Bloomberg 

Russia Matters: Claim in 2020: “Nobody wants to invest [in Russia].” 

In an article published Feb. 18, 2020, by the New York Times, Vladislav Inozemtsev, the director of the Center for Post-Industrial Studies in Moscow, was quoted as saying that “nobody wants to invest” in the Russian economy. He explained that “nobody believes the economic situation will be better tomorrow than it is today.” Inozemtsev’s comments imply that while the Kremlin has worked to make investors believe that the Russian economy is in good shape despite Western sanctions, these investors’ confidence in Russia is nonetheless low. We have decided to fact-check Inozemtsev’s claim because we believe that whether the Russian economy is perceived to be faring well and attracting investment or not is important as such perceptions are factored in when, for instance, the U.S. government assesses the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of its Russia sanctions policy. 

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WNU Editor: The Russian ruble has been in the dumps since the imposition of sanctions six years ago. Foreign investment in Russia has also been low. There are many reasons for this. Sanctions have had an impact, but the biggest reason is that foreign investors do not see any good deals to be made, and what they may be interested in, Russians are not interested in selling. The Russian stock market (MOEX Russian Index) is booming, but I credit this boom coming primarily from Russian investors.