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Europe and the U.S. have not passed the crisis test and will be overtaken by developing countries before long, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at the Russia Forum 2012 on Thursday. Businessmen place more stock in Putin’s micromanagement than in the country itself. One investor commented on the prime minister’s speech ”Mr. Putin sounds convincing. But corruption in Russia is something over the top.”

Referring to the state of the global economy, Putin said that none of the causes of the current financial turmoil have been eliminated. Moreover, the crisis is entering a new stage, with serious problems that are plain to see: debt crisis in corporations and entire states, and a financial sector of unwieldy proportions.

Five centuries of dominance by traditional leaders are rapidly drawing to an end, the world is in for some sweeping changes over the next 10 years, and Russia has a chance to capture leadership if it can achieve economic modernization and dramatically improve its investment climate, Putin claimed. He pledged that over the next few years Russia would move into 20th place from the current 120th in the global ease of doing business index. This challenge will be met by radically reducing the amount of time spent on compiling accounting ledgers, connecting to power grids, obtaining construction permits, etc.

German Gref, CEO of Russia’s largest bank Sberbank, said he is confident that such transformation was possible. “We are our main competitors. If we get with it, we’ll have a shot at becoming a world power to be reckoned with.”

Businessmen seem to trust Putin. “Do we have confidence in Putin? It took him five minutes to send the shares of VTB up,” Bureau de Consultation Financiere Partner Denis Kiselyov said. Putin instructed the management of the second-largest bank to consider buying back shares from disgruntled minority shareholders after the stock price halved from RUB 0.14 following a so-called “people’s IPO” held in 2007. VTB gained 2% to RUB 0.07 on the back of Putin’s remarks.

“If we did not believe in Russia, we would be in some other country. Europe is in the throes of recession, the U.S. is recovering, but Moscow has every chance of becoming a financial hub. It is conveniently located, including in terms of time zones. Our only competitor is Abu Dhabi. We just need to find the right tools,” Troika Dialog former president Pavel Teplukhin said.

Experts believe that most of the ideas advanced by Putin were suggested by the business community. The measures to promote Russia’s position in the ease of doing business rating, which the PM outlined, are similar to those being drawn up by the Strategic Initiatives Agency and public organization Business Russia.

Business Russia President Alexander Galushka believes that the country may improve its position in the rating over the next six years. However, it needs to solve the problems with access to power grids and construction, improve tax administration, and develop investor protection mechanisms.

Daniil Tsygankov, director of the Center for Regulatory Impact Assessment, said that there is a presidential council in the pipeline that would be able to suspend legal acts or impose a moratorium on them.

Commenting on a proposal to create the position of a business ombudsman, businessmen protection organization Biznnes Solidarnost Chairwoman Yana Yakovleva said that this official is just one person who can help a number of businessmen rather than all of them. She called for uniform guidelines so that businessmen could defend their own rights in court without the help of an ombudsman or public organizations. The main objective is to amend the Criminal Code, she added.

Research department of RIA RosBusinessConsulting