Import licenses are required for such items as chemicals, arms, and radioactive materials. Most export quota requirements have been removed. There are no significant restrictions on domestic or foreign travel. There are no significant legal barriers for foreign companies doing business in Russia. The absence of sufficiently developed civil, commercial and regulatory law is the key impediment to foreign investment.
Prior approval is required for investment in many enterprises.
To stem capital flight, exporters are required to exchange 50 percent of hard currency earnings for rubles. The exchange rate floats based in the daily Moscow interbank currency auction where the Central Bank intervenes to smooth fluctuations. The state sector dominates the economy. Estimates of the size of the gray economy range from 25 to 40 percent of the officially recorded economy. Although the government has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to reform, a conservative, often obstructionist parliament has forced the government to maintain some statist policies such as price controls, slowdowns in property rights, subsidies, controlled credits, and bottlenecks in privatization.