ИСТИНА

Since the economic transition of 1990s the level of entrepreneurial activity in Russia remained low as compared to the other emerging economies. This paper argues that one of the impediments to the development of entrepreneurship in Russia is that it is not seen as legitimate enough by the society at large, and aims to analyze this impediment from the institutional perspective. We describe the institutional environment through a concept of a three-dimensional institutional profile which classifies the institutions into three types: regulatory, cognitive and normative, each implying different bases of legitimacy. The notion that negative attitude to entrepreneurship affects its development in Russia is voiced largely by business experts, but didn’t receive sufficient coverage in the academic research. This paper aims to address this gap.