Putin's Oil (Electronic book text)

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.