Based on the analysis of the main performance indicators of the Russian agro-industrial complex (AIC) in 2016, the authors of the article conclude that the main driver of positive changes in the agro-industrial complex of Russia in recent years are mainly political decisions, and not institutional changes in the agro-industrial complex itself. It is noted that agrarian companies of Russia are evidently missing “capable management”, despite the presence of “very high level of formal education” among agrarian employees, which in turn determines the lack of receptivity in agrarian organizations for innovations, primarily in the sphere of agricultural management. The authors pay attention to the need to increase the “abilities” level of corporate agrarian management by creating in Russia a training system for namely “capable managers” and through forming a forward-looking Russian business culture in educational and agrarian organizations.