ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — President Putin assailed the dominance of the global economy by a small group of developed countries and called on them to recognize a “new balance of power” in the world.

“The new architecture of economic relations requires a completely new approach,” Mr. Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum yesterday. Russia intends to become an alternative global financial center and to make the ruble a reserve currency for central banks, he said.

Institutions such as the World Trade Organization are “archaic, undemocratic, and inflexible” Mr. Putin said. Russia, the largest economy outside the WTO, has been trying to join the group for more than a decade.

Russia is in its ninth year of growth, powered by rising prices for oil, natural gas, and other resources. The country’s new assertiveness has led to tensions with America and the European Union, who say Russia’s resurgence has been accompanied by a rollback of democratic freedoms.

“The world is changing before our eyes,” Mr. Putin said at the forum, held in his hometown and attended by executives from more than 200 companies. The economic and financial system established by western countries after World War II “doesn’t reflect the new balance of power.”

The postwar institutions include the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, both based in Washington. The American government chooses the World Bank’s leader, while the head of the IMF has always been a Western European.

Nations including Brazil, South Africa, and Australia have said the selection of leaders should be based on merit rather than nationality. Emerging nations also contend they are under-represented in terms of voting rights.

Even as Russia continues talks to join the WTO, Mr. Putin accused the biggest members of resorting to discriminatory measures against developing countries. “Often the protectionism that the WTO is supposed to combat originates from developed nations,” he said.

Economy Minister German Gref held WTO talks on the sidelines of the forum this morning, Alla Borisenkova, his spokeswoman, said in a phone interview. Mr. Gref talked with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and E.U. Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, she said, and met with U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab later yesterday.

“Without Russia, the WTO is not the multilateral organization that it needs to be,” Mr. Lamy told the forum after Mr. Putin’s address. “The first step is to conclude these negotiations.”