Russia is the largest country in the world, ranking ninth by population with 146.8 million people. It contains 30 percent of the world’s natural resources, making it the most resource-rich country in the world. The Russian economy is sixth in the world in terms of GDP (purchasing power parity), according to the IMF. Our study of companies’ strategic capabilities is based on a comparative analysis of five firms operating in Russia. Three of them are domestic – SIBUR (Siberian-Ural petrochemical and Gas Company), Gazprom Marketing & Trading (part of the Gazprom group), and ByTerg, all representing exporters in the high-tech industry. The other two firms are multinational companies – Ecolab and Swilar, representing the high-tech and service industries respectively. This qualitative study, relying on semi-structured interviews, revealed that customer orientation is a crucial strategic capability, highlighted by all firms. Very important strategic capabilities also include product manufacturing and general sales capabilities (highlighted by 80 percent of respondents).