In this essay we map and evaluate obstacles and problems that can occur during the establishment of international companies in Russia. This is done by investigating Swedish companies, which are established in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. We used secondary and primary data from books, previous surveys, reports, articles and the Internet. We also interviewed the following companies: Alfa Laval, Kockum Sonics AB, Höganäs Keramik, Skanska, Assa Abloy, Advakom, AnoxKaldnes, Lindab, Delovoj Peterburg, HL-Display and also a journalist from the Swedish Radio.

Most of the problems named by the interviewees were similar, but some differences were also found. The differences were primarily found in the ranking of importance between the different problems. As a conclusion we can say that the most important factors were:

· crime such as bribery

· administrative problems such as licensing

· tax laws and political system

· culture and language.

These problems can however be avoided to some point by hiring Russian consultants to manage the contacts and agreement.