During the first two decades of this millennium, the party scene in Russia was spectacular. Glossy magazines documented lavish events at which ministers and oligarchs rubbed shoulders, revellers downed vintage champagne on the dance floor, and Western pop stars, specially flown in, gave exclusive performances. During the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum, once dubbed the Russian Davos, politicians and technocrats would walk around the exhibition centre gladhanding guests before retreating to the city’s imperial palaces to eat black caviar with foreign business leaders.

Today, nearly four years into a war that Russia is still failing to win, society editors are struggling to fill their pages. The elite have become reclusive and fearful. At this year’s St Petersburg forum they were scarcely visible, venturing out of the VIP zone only for Vladimir Putin’s panel. Some have relocated to the countryside. 

Part of the reason for their inward turn is the state of the economy; war spending is no longer enough to sustain growth in the face of tough sanctions and painfully high interest rates. But they also scent changes in the air. Until they know who’s in, who’s out and who might be informing on them, they limit contact to trusted associates. “Members of the elite are not talking to each other about important topics, or networking without the president,” said Mikhail Komin, a political scientist. “This is too dangerous.”