Two years ago, Russia’s economy was shrinking by 9% a year, its stock markets had lost more than 50% in value and the government had gone from a $500bn surplus to a deficit within 12 months, after bailing out banks and major companies.

Suddenly, the Kremlin needed foreign investors again. President Dmitri Medvedev launched a reputation-improving exercise, announcing a string of liberal reforms, a return to the international debt markets, and a $100bn privatisation drive.