Is there a 'new deal' in state-business relations in Russia?

This paper considers the reasons for increasing the interest of Russian leaders in improving the investment climate in Russia. The paper shows that this change in economic policy is connected not only to the natural rent decline but also reflects the search of the ruling coalition for a new social base represented by successful medium-sized business. These new trends can be interpreted in terms of the "limited access order" concept developed in the recent works of Douglass North and his co-authors. Keywords: Russian transition economy, rents, bureaucracy, large and medium-sized business, response to the crises, investment climate