Russian mergers and acquisitions activity has doubled to a record $127bn (€86.2bn) this year as banks have launched aggressive hiring programmes to capture deal flow that is showing no sign of abating.

Local and international investment banks have been building up teams in Moscow and bankers are scrambling to win a mandate on the latest big deal - the potential $4.2bn acquisition by VimpelCom of Golden Telecom in a transaction that will create the country's first integrated mobile and fixed-line provider.