Legal and social aspects of the state participation in the governance of the large corporations in Russia

This paper evaluates the legal status of the Russian federal government as a corporate governance participant using the example of large sectorial companies. The state commonly regulates economic processes and focuses on pursuing the public interest. It also acts as a guarantor of social responsibility, and this affects decision-making processes in state-owned corporations. In Russia, the federal government has always played an essential role in the business activities of enterprises. Many companies are known to be state-owned or have close links to the state authorities and policymakers. This raises an academic debate concerning the development of market competition, state participation, and business environment. We propose approaches to understanding the participation of the state and unitary enterprises in corporate governance in Russia. By employing secondary data analysis as well as examining the Russian legislation in corporate law, we attempt to determine the legal and social status of the federal government in managing large corporations. This study addresses the issues of the duality of the legal status of the government in corporate governance and its impact on managerial decision-making