Abstract
After seven years of dramatic decentralization and dynamic privatization of Russia's oil industry from, which transformed the wholly state-run oil distribution system into the mostly privatized quasi-market “petropreneurship”, the pendulum of oil control has started to move back. However, despite the obvious need for a better regulated industry and the rising state-centric tendencies, the liberalization of the Russian oil market seems to have passed the point of no return, and the controversial issue of creating a national oil company (NOC) needs to be addressed not only from the political angle but also with regard of economic possibilities and the present market realities.