Putin's Oil: The Yukos Affair and the Struggle for Russia

Putin's Oil: The Yukos Affair and the Struggle for Russia by Sixsmith, Martin. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781441199683.

This title investigates Vladimir Putins war for control of Russias vast oil reserves, in particular Mikhail Khodorkovskys oil firm, Yukos. "Putins Oil" investigates the complex world of Kremlin politics, including conspiracies and conspiracy theories, allegations that Roman Abramovitch plotted with Putin to destroy Khodorkovsky, suspicions of betrayal and double agents in the Kremlin and in Yukos, murder charges against Khodorkovskys partners, and the KGB defector who claims they were carried out by Kremlin agents. After the mysterious death in a helicopter crash of the Englishman who had taken over Yukos, the companys war against the Kremlin is now being waged by a troika of mild mannered Britons, pursued by Interpol arrest warrants and Moscows fury. Khodorkovsky remains in a penal camp in far Eastern Siberia. Martin Sixsmith, former BBC Moscow Correspondent, has gained unprecedented access to many of the players in the drama. The resulting book is both a thriller and an analysis of the defining moments of Putins presidency and their ongoing impact in Russian and world politics.