The public order exception is one of the most complicated institutions of private international law which limits the application of foreign law. Providing a clear and precise definition of “public order” is difficult because Russian law does not define the term. This creates a problem in its application. The author therefore analyses the practice of Russian courts connected to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, with regard to the application of the ordre public exception. Based on an analysis of the cases, the author concludes that fundamental principles of Russian law, the generally recognized principles of morality upon which the Russian legal order is based, the generally recognized principles and norms of international law, etc. are understood under the term of ordre public. It will be found that the notion of public order does not coincide with the substance of the law of the Russian Federation, and that the public order of the Russian Federation is synonymous with the foundations of the social order of the Russian state. Thus the public order concept may be used solely in exceptional cases when the application of foreign law would bring about a result inadmissible under the Russian legal sense of justice.