The paper deals with the formation of a list of critical facilities in Russia's gas transportation system in terms of energy security, and the substantiation of potential ways to minimize the negative effects of emergency situations on operation of these facilities. To date the lists of critical facilities in the energy systems have been formed on the basis of the performance analysis of certain facilities. The paper addresses the problem of identification of such facilities depending on their impact on overall operability of the system. This is accomplished by analyzing the level of negative impact caused by termination or disturbance of operation of a certain facility on consumers. The analysis employs the software "Russia's Oil and Gas" ("ROG"). The principles of identifying critical facilities in Russia's gas transportation system are demonstrated, specific examples are shown, and potential ways to mitigate the negative impact of emergency situations at such facilities on gas consumers are formulated. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.