The paper gives a critical overview of macro-level management efforts to increase energy efficiency in Russia in 1995-2013 with special focus on the shift in goals, methods and approaches. We compare the pace and the trend of evolution of Russian energy efficiency policy with world trends and discuss the effects of policy diffusion on international and regional levels. Using the conceptual framework of extended energy-efficiency gap, this study investigates the existing barriers to energy efficiency and suggests the possible solutions for improvement of energy policy on regional level. We gather the information for evaluation of effectiveness of current energy policy by empirical research in the form of a mix of medium-scale face-to-face inquiry and semi-structured interview. The findings reveal that the most common barrier is the lack of expertise and competences to identify the inefficiencies and opportunities and to implement energy efficiency measures needs to be overcome first for further improvement of energy efficiency. The convergence of expertise can happen through horizontal interactions on regional level as well as specially organized training programs at the federal level with the participation of international experts.