So who IS still hiring in Russia?

It's hard to know whether Walmart, the world's biggest retailer, is always a good act to follow. But just as media reports emerge that it is laying the initial groundwork for a return to Russia, it turns out that banks are also still hiring, if you look hard enough. Merrill Lynch Securities, the Russian subsidiary of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is reported to be "strengthening its infrastructure." CEO Konstantin Korishchenko recently said: "We continue to make strategic hires in Russia as we look to invest in our Russia business and grow market share in the coming months and years."

Is it all talk? Certainly not at ING, the Dutch financial group which is expanding across all key product lines in EMEA, and has made a number of hires. They include Igor Goncharov, who joins in Moscow from UBS as a director of equity research covering Russian utilities, Anna Kochkina, who joins in Moscow from ABN Amro as a vice-president responsible for covering the Russian consumer and chemical sectors, and Tatiana Prokina, who moves from VTB Capital to ING as a vice-president of equity research covering the Russian transport, logistics and real estate sectors.

In EMEA execution, Todd Krummel moves from Deutsche Bank to ING in Moscow as a director and head of Russian trading. Adam Brinkley-Svanberg jumps from Tullet Prebon in London to ING in Moscow as vice-president of Russian equity trading, and Brian Wesneski moves from Unicredit Securities to ING in Moscow as vice president of Russian sales trading.

So it seems that even if it is largely the same merry-go-round, at least there are still places - and the music has not yet stopped. Renaissance Capital also recently hired Morgan Stanley veteran John Hyman as a Moscow-based co-head of investment banking and financing. Mr Hyman moves from hedge fund Cheyne Capital Management in the UK, which he joined last year as a partner.