--- uvj at vsnl.com wrote:
>
> What's your take (and Peter's) on the following news
> report on Gazprom's take over of Sibneft? Is it all
> part of Putin's retirement plans? -:)
>
Peter will have a lot more to say about this than I do, but we have at least in part 1) further consolidation of Russia's energy resources in the hands of the Kremlin and 2) Abramovich being rewarded for being a good boy.*
The Gazprom-Lukoil-Sibneft monster is really reaching Behemoth sizes. Remember that the Kremlin views its energy resource position as a/the main lever of foreign policy. And of course it is the cornerstone of the economy. They don't want it in the hands of gangsters who run a separate foreign policy anymore.
* I think Abramovich may want out of the oligarch business. He'll retire and live in a giant yacht off the English coast and fly in to see Chelsea play, revelling in his astronomical wealth. ;)
I must say that, if one could point to a "good" oligarch, Abramovich is the one. He ran Chukotka like a giant daycare center.
Nu, zayats, pogodi!
__________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com