In Vladimir Putin's Russia there is no divide between business and politics, and when he hosts G8 leaders for their annual summit this week he will be playing two roles: President of Russia and CEO of Russia Inc.
In his quest to rebuild a strong Russia out of the ruins of the Soviet Union, Mr Putin has developed his own brand of Kremlin capitalism, defined by state control over oil and gas and the use of energy to project power, say analysts.
January's gas crisis, in which Russian gas monopoly Gazprom cut exports to Ukraine, shocked Europeans who suffered the first disruptions to supplies of Siberian gas in 40 years.
The gas pricing row hit perceptions in the West in a way not seen since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986, says Alexander Rahr, a German foreign policy expert who argues the Kremlin is still learning how to use Russia's energy clout.
"In its childhood years Russia was economically and financially dependent on the West," said Mr Rahr, a biographer of Mr Putin. "Today, the 15-year-old post-Soviet Russia is flexing its muscles and trying to reverse that relationship of dependency."
Russia has stage-managed the summit build-up to demonstrate its new economic prowess: eight years after its humiliating currency devaluation and debt default, Moscow has agreed to repay all the foreign debts it assumed from the Soviet Union.
It has abolished capital controls in its quest to turn the rouble into a first-rate convertible currency.
And, on the eve of the summit, it will float state oil firm Rosneft, seeking to raise over $11 billion in Russia's largest-ever stock market listing.
With Gazprom and Rosneft, Mr Putin will be able to boast two world-class energy companies. But, say experts, parlaying their status as oil and gas majors into global influence will be hard.
"Russia does appear to want to use energy to project power. The problem is that energy itself cannot easily be used directly as an instrument of power," Clifford G. Gaddy, a Russia expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington, told Reuters.
"The energy instrument must necessarily be backed up by hard power - military force or the threat of force. In fact, oil and gas work better as instruments of soft power," argues Mr Gaddy, who has researched the evolution of Mr Putin's economic credo.
Critics lambaste the Kremlin for stripping assets out of oil major Yukos, and jailing its politically ambitious owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky, to build Rosneft into the world's 11th-largest oil company by reserves.
Andrei Illarionov, a former Putin adviser and now a fierce critic, has denounced the Rosneft privatisation as "a crime against the Russian people". He said the deal, masterminded by Kremlin insiders, should be revoked by a future government.
Although Mr Putin has put energy security at the top of his summit agenda, analysts see little chance of progress after US Vice President Dick Cheney accused Moscow in May of using energy to intimidate and blackmail its neighbours.
Europe has taken a twin-track approach of seeking energy alternatives while trying to bind Russia into the International Energy Charter - a rulebook which requires open access to pipelines and energy fields.
Russia, meanwhile, considers its energy interests to be best served by what it calls "security of demand" and Gazprom is pushing to gain greater access to European markets by acquiring distribution assets in Germany, Britain and Italy.
The Kremlin robustly defends its position, seeing no reason why Russia should surrender control of its energy resources and infrastructure at the behest of the West.
"I have the impression that if cannibals came to power in Moscow and gave away something, these cannibals would be regarded as terribly democratic," said Vladislav Surkov, the Kremlin's top political strategist.
Despite the slim prospects for an understanding, sky-high oil prices will keep energy on the front burner going into next year's German G8 presidency, analysts say.
With that in mind, G8 leaders might want to take a few tips from the oil industry on how best to build a successful relationship with Russia: Go easy on the rhetoric, stay engaged and fulfil your promises.
"It's not a bad idea if you speak less and do more," said one western oil industry source. It's all about constructive engagement. And stick to the business."