Posts Tagged ‘sechin’
Opposition Figure Irks Russian Oil Czar
President Vladimir Putin’s close ally who runs Russia’s state oil company Rosneft Wednesday accused a popular leader of opposition protests of acting to the company’s detriment by criticizing Russian officials and demanding access to the company’s secrets.
Igor Sechin, Rosneft’s chief executive, said blogger Alexei Navalny works on behalf of the company’s competitors and an investment fund, who are trying to have a peek into Rosneft’s confidential documents.
Mr. Navalny holds a infinitesimal stake in the firm and, as a shareholder, demands that internal documents, including minutes to board meetings, be published. He has also accused the company of misconduct, corruption and infringement on shareholders’ interests. Rosneft has defended the confidentiality of its documents in courts.
Mr. Navalny, a darling of the anti-Kremlin rallies that have been erupting in Moscow over the past few months, has been repeatedly detained by authorities. His apartment and his office were recently searched by the police, and state-controlled media refer to him as a Western stooge.
“According to some information, Navalny is a lawyer employed by Hermitage Capital,” said Mr. Sechin, the Rosneft chief, when asked at the company’s annual shareholders meeting who he thought was right in the dispute between the company and the blogger.
Read More →
Facebook
Twitter
Google Buzz
LinkedIn
del.icio.us
Google Bookmarks
Yahoo! Buzz
Tumblr
StumbleUpon
FriendFeed
NewsVine
Digg
Getting the New Kremlin Cabinet Wrong: No, These Are Not Liberals
Tom Balmforth’s article on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty about the new cabinet puzzled me, as his pieces often do in taking a more liberal view of Russia’s intentions than I think are merited. Where does this come from? Does it come from interviews with actual Russian officials? I don’t see such interviews referenced in the piece.
No, I think it comes from simply Balmforth’s own worldview, the evidently “progressive” view which he frames the entire Russian story in the first place, such as to make what he sees as reasoned estimates of Russia’s behaviour.
But they all strike me as being quite wrong.
First, there’s the notion that Vladislav Surkov was “demoted” and “in disgrace”. “Last December, he was relegated to an obscure deputy prime minister’s portfolio,” says Balmforth. But there was never any evidence for any punishment — and the evidence that it was NEVER the case is in fact now before us, as Surkov is back with just as much power (or more) than ever! It was just a maneuver.
Surkov was moved out of the limelight strategically at a time when demonstrators were seeing him as the heart of darkness, and Golos, the nonprofit election monitors were blasting NTV as “Surkovskaya propaganda.” Surkov has always been the grey cardinal of the Kremlin and never ceased being so — and while he was furloughed, he was put in charge of religion, too, and that’s why no doubt we see a nasty new legislative development regarding religious groups — no longer can they register as nonprofit or non-commercial groups like NGOs; they will have to be approved in a separate section of law.
Read More →
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Google Buzz
- LinkedIn
- del.icio.us
- Google Bookmarks
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Tumblr
- StumbleUpon
- FriendFeed
- NewsVine
- Digg
Impudence and Impunity
Russia Profile.org
As Russia prepares for this year’s Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, the long-running saga of the Hermitage Capital Management will loom large in the minds of potential investors and could cast a shadow of uncertainty over Russia’s shaky investment climate. Last week, one of the individuals accused by the British hedge-fund firm of involvement in a $230 million tax scam, finally broke what looked like a sacred vow of silence.
In an interview with the Vedomosti business daily published on Friday, Vladlen Stepanov, the husband of a Russian tax official who allegedly embezzled millions through the tax rebate scam, denied any connection between his wealth and the fraud. He announced that he had filed a lawsuit to protect his honor, dignity and business reputation against the Echo of Moscow radio station, which aired the allegations, and against Jamison Firestone, a managing partner at Firestone Duncan who voiced them.
Read More →
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Google Buzz
- LinkedIn
- del.icio.us
- Google Bookmarks
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Tumblr
- StumbleUpon
- FriendFeed
- NewsVine
- Digg
Sergei Magnitsky and the Rule of Law in Russia
Earlier this week, in a Wall Street Journal interview about investing in Russia, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin surprised me. He cited my experience in Russia as an example of the strength of the Russian investment climate. Mr. Sechin argued that, based on the “economic efficiency” of my investments in Russia, I should be “a happy man.” While Mr. Sechin is correct that my investors realized significant returns on their investments in Russian equities, I would hope that no one ever has to endure the nightmare that my colleagues and I suffered in Russia after achieving this success.
Read More →
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Google Buzz
- LinkedIn
- del.icio.us
- Google Bookmarks
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Tumblr
- StumbleUpon
- FriendFeed
- NewsVine
- Digg
Russia’s Energy Czar Speaks
Igor Sechin is one of Russia’s most powerful officials and one of its most secretive. A deputy prime minister tasked with overseeing the oil sector and one of Vladimir Putin’s closest confidantes, he rarely gives interviews. So it’s a big deal when he does, and the Wall Street Journal scored one, published today. It’s definitely worth a read.
Read More →
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Google Buzz
- LinkedIn
- del.icio.us
- Google Bookmarks
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Tumblr
- StumbleUpon
- FriendFeed
- NewsVine
- Digg
