The low level of involvement by international oil companies in Russia seems difficult to explain given what development of its resources and production has to offer. There are still many restrictions and contradictions, born of the particular institutional and political environment of the Russian oil industry at the end of 15 years of transition, that act as it bar to international integration. Three factors currently define the establishment of relations with foreign investors. First, because of the many different levels of negotiation with Russian companies, the State and the Regions, the decisions are based on complex relations between the various forces. Second, the reforms, and especially privatisation and the allocation of rights of ownership to deposits, are considered by sizeable sections of public opinion and many political classes to be illegitimate, thus making the issue of international investment and foreign presence still more complicated. Finally, the State's wish to take back the oil industry in order to use it to fulfil its economic and foreign policies is creating further uncertainty. These three elements seriously restrict the entry of international oil companies to the Russian market. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. Ail rights reserved.