State-owned companies as actors of economic statism? The case of Russia

The project addresses the question to what extent companies such as Rosatom, Gazprom or Alrosa, i.e. state-owned companies, are instruments of foreign policy and to what extent they pursue their own interests, both in terms of the interests of the company and the interests of their management. Particularly under Vladimir Putin, these firms have come to be seen as instruments of foreign policy, but, as I argue, their independence of action is considerably higher than such a view might suggest, and a one-sided relationship cannot but explain their actions in the form of investment decisions abroad.