The article examines what influences the stock market in Russia and other emerging countries. It looks at how the Russian stock market is affected by global stock markets and oil prices from 1997 to 2012. Surprisingly, oil prices are not a big factor for the Russian stock market after 2006. The study also shows that the correlation between different markets increased from 2000 to 2012, especially in Eastern European markets. This growth may be linked to these countries joining the EU in 2004.