The article explores the use of alternative financial solutions, in particular Islamic financial institutions, for the implementation of various Russian projects in the context of limited access for Russian business structures to Western financial markets. The work defines the prerequisites for the development of Islamic financial institutions in Russian practice, as well as justifies the directions for the development of investment cooperation between Russia and the Islamic countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia within the framework of the use of the infrastructure of Islamic financial institutions. The methodological toolkit of the study includes an analysis of public facts on the development of Islamic finance, the functioning of Islamic financial institutions in Russia. The study showed that there is currently potential for the development of Islamic finance in Russia, but so far this market has not reached a full-scale deployment in the country due to certain circumstances that impede the development of the infrastructure of Islamic finance. Obviously, the necessary conditions for starting work in new markets for Islamic investors are the presence in the country of a legislative, regulatory, organizational and tax infrastructure of Islamic finance, as well as a system for protecting foreign investors. It is these conditions that Russia will have to create in the near future. In the context of the development of Islamic financing mechanisms, an experiment on testing Islamic finance in Russia, focused on increasing the availability and development of Islamic financing tools for the population and business, as well as attracting international investors who pay increased attention to the ethical and religious aspects of investment, should play a special role.