Putin’s World Cup dividends will be puny, say economists
Unlike the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, they say the best Russia can hope for this time around is a modest gain in the rouble
St Petersburg — President Vladimir Putin has spent six years and more than $11bn preparing nearly a dozen Russian cities to host the Soccer World Cup, the biggest such event the country’s held since the collapse of the Soviet Union. As millions of fans spread out across European Russia over the next four weeks, the Kremlin is hoping to show a friendlier face and break some of the international isolation Russia’s suffered in the years since it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. From Yekaterinburg in the Urals to Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, the championship reaches cities few foreign visitors have seen before. Still, as high as the price tag is, economists say the massive effort won’t be enough to generate much of a blip in Russia’s almost $1.5-trillion economy. Moody’s Investors Service said last month that any boost would be limited and short-lived, well short of the fillip provided by the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, which cost a record $50bn. Economists say the best Ru...
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