Russian legal environment Foreign investors, being generally apprehensive of the perceived inflexible nature of Russian law and Russia’s unpredictable court practice, prefer for transactions with a Russian counterparty to be governed by foreign law and to provide for international arbitration. Such a trend is completely understandable and international participants usually obtain the comfort they require by avoiding the murky waters of the Russian legal system. However, when it comes to the insolvency of a Russian entity, it is impossible to bypass Russian court proceedings.