After a roller coaster experience since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, leading players in Russia’s stock markets have met with international peers to chart a path ahead.

From record highs to lows and back again, markets in Russia have been searching for a stable benchmark.

Russia's annual Securities Market Regulation Conference attracted Greg Tanzer, the secretary general of IOSCO, the international regulators' association, who was keen to bring the Russian market closer to international standards and operations.

“We are very keen as an organization to promote common high principles and standards of securities regulation, we are very interested in the development of Russia, the Russian economy, and the Russian regulatory system, because its such an important economy, to the global economy.”

Russia sees a full fledged membership with IOSCO as the next step in the development of its financial system.

Vladimir Milovidov, Head of the Federal Financial Markets Service claims it has fulfilled most of the watchdog’s requirements.

"There are a few that remain, including the main point of passing a law preventing the use of insider information to manipulate trading.”

The Russian government has already begun tackling this problem, but it's still not clear when or how the law will be enforced according to Dmitry Ananyev, Chairman of the Russian Financial Markets Council.

“We have an additional task of overcoming the non-competitive financial system, which we have inherited from the Soviet era.”

Russia's securities industry knows the direction, but still has some way to go before the reality meets ambition.