The recently adopted EU-Russia Energy Roadmap until 2050 identifies the clear potential for EU-Russia cooperation in areas such as energy efficiency, electricity and renewable energy. Indeed, rising prices for electricity stimulate energy-saving programs at the company level and force the population to think about decentralized generation. The Russian energy market offers excellent opportunities as well as challenges. In order for both Russia and the EU to mutually benefit from cooperation, it is crucial to understand current trends and challenges. In the mid-term, electricity prices both for industry and private consumers will continue to rise and will reach EU levels in 2015–2016. Simultaneously, the increase of transmission fees in electricity prices in Russia will further stimulate the development of decentralized generation, which tends to be cheaper than centralized generation. Although these trends open new opportunities for bilateral projects, major problems, such as an incomplete legal basis and the prioritizing of administrative methods, remain in Russia. Moreover, policy on energy efficiency in Russia is slowed by the lack of long-term financial capital and the low qualification of energy auditors.