Following 1994 's G7 summit in Naples , Russian officials held separate meetings with leaders of the G7 after the group 's summits . This informal arrangement was dubbed the Political 8 ( P8 ) – or , colloquially , the G7 +1 . At the invitation of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair and President of the United States Bill Clinton , Russian President Boris Yeltsin was invited first as a guest observer , later as a full participant . After the 1997 meeting Russia was formally invited to the next meeting and formally joined the group in 1998 , resulting in a new governmental political forum , the Group of Eight or G8 . The Russian Federation , in fact , had and has limited net national wealth and financial weight compared to the other members of the G8 . Russia also has never been a major advanced economy according to the IMF . However , the Russian Federation was ejected from the G8 political forum in March 2014 following the Russian annexation of Crimea
1994 's G7 summit in Naples
20th G7 summit
Group of Seven