MOSCOW, June 2 (Reuters) - Russia's 'Davos' - formally known as the St Petersburg Economic Forum - kicks off on Wednesday and has attracted an eclectic crowd, including some Americans attracted to Moscow's "anti-wokery" and support for "traditional values."
These are some of the U.S. citizens who are due to attend the forum:
Right-wing Americansocial media influencer and podcasterwho has been fiercely critical of Israel, U.S. funding of Israel, feminism and much else. French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte are pursuing a high-profileU.S. defamation lawsuitagainst Owens, 37, who has falsely claimed that Brigitte was born male.
Owens will speak at a session on "balancing parenthood in a large family with a successful career," according to the official programme.
"I have been wanting to go to St Petersburg for a very, very long time just as a Christian in general just to see some of those cathedrals and churches," Owens said ahead of her trip.
Former Hollywood action hero and martial arts expert, Seagal has long admired PresidentVladimir Putinfrom whom he received a Russian passport in 2016. Seagal is a special representative of Russia's Foreign Ministry for humanitarian ties with the United States and Japan.
A frequent visitor to Russia, Seagal backed Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014 as "very reasonable", joined a pro-Kremlin party in 2021, and has supported Russia's war in Ukraine.
Seagal is listed as a participant in a panel on culture.
Chairman of theU.S. Commission of Fine Arts, Cook is overseeing PresidentDonald Trump’s controversialWhite House ballroom extensionand is listed as leading the official U.S. delegation to the forum.
He is the first U.S. official to attend the forum since 2017/18, according to the Kremlin, and the first since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. He will speak at a session on U.S.-Russian cultural dialogue.
Source: Drudge Report
