CANNES, France -- A performance by a Cossack choir at the opening cocktail party and an impressive model of the Kazan Kremlin were just two of the signs of the major Russian presence last week at the biggest-ever MIPIM exhibition of property market professionals.
This year, among a total of more than 20,000 participants at Europe's largest real estate forum, held annually in southern France since 1990, there were representatives from 189 Russian companies, representing a healthy increase from last year's 150.
The number of heavyweight representatives from the federal government, who were joined by top-level figures from the Moscow city government, such as First Deputy Mayor Vladimir Resin, Deputy Mayor Iosif Ordzhonikidze and chief architect Alexander Kuzmin, was a strong indication of the importance of the real estate industry as a driver of growth in regional economies.
This year, the accent was on the regions, with new participants from as far away as Buryatia, which was exhibi ...
