Transition economies are often characterized by underdeveloped formal institutions, often resulting in an unstable environment and creating a void usually filled by informal ones. Entrepreneurs in transition environments thus face more uncertainty and risk than those in more developed economies. This article examines the relationship of institutions and entrepreneurship in Russia and China in the context of institutional theory by analyzing private property as a formal institution, as well as trust and blat/guanxi as informal institutions. This article thus contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship and institutional theory by focusing on these topics in transition economies, and by emphasizing how their relationship differs from that in developed economies. We conclude that full convergence toward entrepreneurs' reliance on formal institutions may not readily occur in countries like Russia and China due to the embeddedness of informal institutions. Instead, such countries and their entrepreneurs may develop unique balances between informal and formal institutions that better fit their circumstances. Implications for the theory and practice of entrepreneurship in such environments are also offered. Russian and Chinese Entrepreneurship in an Institutional ContextEntrepreneurship is critical for the economic development of Russia and China as they transition from central planning and large state-owned enterprises, although China continues to support many of those favored enterprises, as does Russia in strategic sectors like energy. This article analyzes how the void of formal institutions in transition economies affects the relationship between entrepreneurship and institutions, and how the relationship differs from that in developed economies. It focuses on the environmental context and the void of formal institutions, like the security of private property rights, and explains how traditions and informal institutions, specifically trust and blat/guanxi, have filled that void. Such a contrast can make a significant contribution to the literature by examining the specific context of transition economies, since entrepreneurship is recognized as "a context-dependent social process through which individuals and teams create wealth by Please send correspondence to: Sheila

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