Putin's Oil: The Yukos Affair and the Struggle for Russia
Putin’s Oil relates Vladimir Putin’s war for control of Russia’s vast oil reserves, in particular Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s oil firm, Yukos.\
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Putin’s Oil is the story of Russia's energy wars and their consequences for Moscow and the world. Written by Martin Sixsmith, former BBC Moscow correspondent, Putin’s Oil focuses on Mikhail Khodorkovsky, owner of Yukos, once the country’s biggest oil firm and the key to Russia’s economy. In October 2003, troops carrying machine guns boarded Khodorkovsky’s plane on the runway of a Siberian airfield. Within hours, the richest man in Russia was hauled back to Moscow wearing handcuffs and a black canvas hood over his head. Vladimir Putin had flexed his political might and changed the political course of Russia. The book is a vivid account of what led to Khodorkovsky’s arrest, and its dramatic aftermath and far-reaching consequences. Martin Sixsmith has gained unprecedented access to many of the key players in the drama. The resulting book is both a thriller and political examination of Vladimir Putin’s struggle to control Russia’s valuable stores of oil, through political maneuvering, conspiracy, deception, betrayal, and espionage—by one of the world's leading experts on contemporary Russia. Library Journal Journalist Sixsmith (The Litvinenko File) vividly describes the struggle between former Russian president (and current prime minister) Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former owner of the Yukos Oil company and one of the wealthiest men in Russia. With the skill of a novelist (he has written two works of political fiction), Sixsmith recalls how Khodorkovsky transformed himself from a businessman, who may have committed ruthless criminal actions to get ahead, into a philanthropist who stood for Western-style above-board corporate accounting and political freedom for Russians. However, after provoking the prickly Putin with accusations of shady political and financial dealing and hypocrisy, Khodorkovsky was sentenced to jail for tax evasion on questionable evidence. Often dramatic and compelling, this work unfortunately becomes tedious when it details Yukos's financial affairs. The book lacks citations, and the author appears to depend solely on interviews and his own reporting as his sources. VERDICT This is a good overview for general readers who follow international current events, but Sixsmith should have focused less on Yukos's statistics and more on the big picture implications of Putin's actions.—Rob Langenderfer, Brown Mackie Coll. Lib., Ft. Mitchell, KY
Introduction\ PART ONE Chapter 1. Flight to the East Chapter 2. Into Siberia Chapter 3. "Put Down Your Guns!"\ PART TWO Chapter 4. Boy from the Komsomol Chapter 5. Gathering the Team Chapter 6. Computers and Banks Chapter 7. August 1991\ Chapter 8. Sale of the Century?\ Chapter 9. Consolidating the Gains\ PART THREE Chapter 10. New man in the Kremlin Chapter 11. Buying up the Duma?\ Chapter 12. Igor Sechin and the 'Strongmen'\ Chapter 13. Showdown in the Kremlin Chapter 14. Looking for Trouble Chapter 15. Pipelines and Provocation Chapter 16. Open Russia Chapter 17. Friends in the West\ PART FOUR Chapter 18. The Family and the Siloviki Chapter 19. More Arrests Chapter 20. Yukos and the Struggle for Russia Chapter 21. A Kremlin Double Cross?\ Chapter 22. Exile or Jail Chapter 23. Americans in Town Chapter 24. The Exxon Gaffe Chapter 25. A Final Plea?\ Chapter 26. Arrest in Siberia\ PART FIVE Chapter 27. Counting the Cost Chapter 28. Trying to Stay Afloat Chapter 29. The Abramovich Connection Chapter 30. The Kremlin Explains Chapter 31. Fight or Flight Chapter 32. Khodorkovsky Shunned\ PART SIX Chapter 33. "Just like Al Capone"\ Chapter 34. Justice on Trial Chapter 35. The Murder Business Chapter 36. The Chechen Connection Chapter 37. Hostages?\ Chapter 38. In the Camps Chapter 39. Prophet in a Prison Cell Chapter 40. A battle of Titans\ PART SEVEN.\ Chapter 41. The UK Connection Chapter 42. The British Troika Chapter 43. A Canadian Gambit Chapter 44. The Brits Bite Back.\ Chapter 45. Cashing in the Profits Chapter 46. The Startled Accountants Chapter 47. Traitors in the Ranks?\ Chapter 48. Hope Chapter 49. Hope Abandoned Chapter 50. Light at the End of a Disaster?
\ Library JournalJournalist Sixsmith (The Litvinenko File) vividly describes the struggle between former Russian president (and current prime minister) Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former owner of the Yukos Oil company and one of the wealthiest men in Russia. With the skill of a novelist (he has written two works of political fiction), Sixsmith recalls how Khodorkovsky transformed himself from a businessman, who may have committed ruthless criminal actions to get ahead, into a philanthropist who stood for Western-style above-board corporate accounting and political freedom for Russians. However, after provoking the prickly Putin with accusations of shady political and financial dealing and hypocrisy, Khodorkovsky was sentenced to jail for tax evasion on questionable evidence. Often dramatic and compelling, this work unfortunately becomes tedious when it details Yukos's financial affairs. The book lacks citations, and the author appears to depend solely on interviews and his own reporting as his sources. VERDICT This is a good overview for general readers who follow international current events, but Sixsmith should have focused less on Yukos's statistics and more on the big picture implications of Putin's actions.—Rob Langenderfer, Brown Mackie Coll. Lib., Ft. Mitchell, KY\ \
