G20 Country Russia: A Global Powerhouse With Complex Dynamics

Russia hosted the eighth G20 summit at St Petersburg in 2013 and its membership reflects its position as a major global player with significant economic and geopolitical influence.

Russia President Vlaidimr Putin won't be attending in person the 2023 India G20 summit

President: Vladimir Putin

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A former KGB intelligence service officer, Vladimir Putin has been the president of Russia since 2012 and previously served in the post from 1999 to 2008.

Russia has been a full member of the G20 since the bloc was formed in 1999 in the wake of the financial crisis in 1997 that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia. Russia is the only member of the G20 that is also a member of both G8 and of the BRICS group.

It hosted the eighth G20 summit at St Petersburg on September 5-6, 2013. Russia took over the G20 presidency on December 1, 2012. The agendas for the St Petersburg Summit were drawn up by the Troika countries — Mexico (2012 chair), Russia (2013 chair), and Australia (2014 chair).

Apart from the G20 members, six invitee countries Spain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Singapore, and heads of seven international organisations — UN, World Bank, IMF, FSB, OECD, WTO, ILO — participated in the 2012 summit held amid a gloomy global economic situation. The meet centred around growth and job creation. 

The G20 joint statement highlighted the importance of inclusive growth, orderly global economy and market openness. At the summit, the G20 leaders agreed on the automatic exchange of tax information. Agreement was also reached on Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). It entailed a regulatory policy to oversee activities of tax-evading multinational companies.

Besides, the leaders also agreed on the St Petersburg Action Plan that set new measures and country-specific reform commitments to increase growth and job creation. The G20 Summit was held during the peak of the Syrian civil war and Russian President Vladimir Putin's pullaside with then US President Barack Obama garnered much attention.

Russia's G20 membership reflects its position as a major global player with significant economic and geopolitical influence, though its complex relationships with other members often lead to tensions. Russia's membership has been called into question due to its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The United States and other Western countries have called for Russia to be expelled from the group, but this has not been supported by all G20 members.

Putin attended the 2022 G20 summit, held in Indonesia, virtually, and won't be coming to India for the 2023 summit also.  

Russia and the other 19 G20 members represent 65 per cent of the world population, 75 per cent of global trade and 85 per cent of the world's economy.

The other members of the G20 are — Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US, as well as the European Union.