The state is the most significant agent, which designates the characteristics of transition of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in the post-Soviet era. The powerful state is the legacy of the former Soviet regime, which had already created state&amp / #8217 / s autonomy from the society. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan differ from other transition economies because of their rich reserves of hydrocarbons. The transformation of these countries can be best analyzed by referring to the attitude of the state toward the issues related to hydrocarbons. The responses of the state to the demands of Russia, multinational oil companies, international organizations coexist with different domestic policies shaped along national peculiarities. In Azerbaijan, state attempted to open the energy sector to foreign capital as much as possible by following a policy of competitive accelerated adjustment in order to balance the external pressures and the national interests. Kazakhstan&amp / #8217 / s transition period coincided with state&amp / #8217 / s defensive market response, which allowed markets work under an autocratic political regime, whose main concern was to sustain the equilibrium among Russia, multinational companies and international organizations. In Turkmenistan, state gave priority to national interests and undermined the demands of Russia, multinational oil companies and international organizations by its neomercantilist attitude, along which the principal goal was to sustain state&amp / #8217 / s absolute power and increase the flow of revenues extracted from oil and gas trade.