Various foreign companies operating in Russia, especially in the oil and gas exploration business, have had to face the vagaries of Russian legislation, which changes frequently, making it difficult to plan activities. Besides being heavily taxed, foreign firms have had to face a change in export duties of crude oil over a dozen times in the past few years. Yet most companies continue to negotiate for making investments worth billions of dollars. Discuss some of the possible reasons for the actions of these companies. Companies take various steps to manage political risk. If you were representing a company negotiating investments in Russia, what steps would you take to manage (and/or reduce) the political risk associated with these investments?