While corporate governance is largely an internal company issue, its quality is determined by legislation and other external forces — putting it on a wish list of reforms that foreign investors said the government should tackle as Russia is buffeted by the global financial crisis. Other priorities include court and tax reform, equal application of the law and support for small and midsized businesses. Progress in these areas, investors said, will allow Russia to emerge from the storm with a stronger economy.
"When you have a financial crisis, it is trendy to focus on the short term to overcome it," said Klaus Rohland, the World Bank's country director for Russia. "I encourage the government to pursue its long-term agenda side by side with the crisis."
Corporate governance has long been a hot-button issue, and minority shareholders have complained of unfair treatment since the 1990s. The complaints might be fewer these days, but the issue has not been laid to rest.
