Word: lebedev
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...Yukos shareholders who saw their investments evaporate after Moscow expropriated and then nationalized the company, effectively handing the government of Vladimir Putin, then President and now Prime Minister, virtual monopolistic control of Russia's vital energy industry. It gives the once politically ambitious Khodorkovsky and his partner Platon Lebedev at least some good news in the face of the Russian government's continuing campaign against them. Later this month, the two men, who are already serving multiyear prison terms, will face fresh charges of embezzlement and grand theft...
...Yukos hearing takes place, and if the claimants win, then it's not just the shareholders who could benefit. "This could have a roll-on effect on the other former Yukos executives, such as Svetlana Bakhmina, Vasily Aleksanyan, Lebedev and, of course, Khodorkovsky, all of whom had placed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights," says Claire Davidson, a spokeswoman for Yukos. But there could be a much higher cost in Russia, where the local media are already speculating on how a $34 billion payout could cripple the economy. Others suggest that, with a judgment against it, Russia could...
...peak, that fortune was believed to be around $3 billion, amassed after Lebedev abandoned espionage in 1992 in favor of a more lucrative occupation as a businessman. Lebedev became chairman of Russia's National Reserve Bank and acquired a substantial stake in Russian national carrier, Aeroflot. The smoothest path to prosperity in Russia is to court the political establishment, not to challenge it, but Lebedev has not shied away from political activism. In September 2008 he joined forces with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to found an opposition movement called the Independent Democratic Party of Russia. In partnership with Gorbachev...
...Against that background, the prospect of owning the Standard must seem like a walk in the park, even as Lebedev contemplates plowing "tens of millions of pounds" into the loss-making publication. He told the Financial Times the Standard could be used "to help [Russian Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin to fight corruption" in Russia, but has also promised to maintain the paper's editorial independence. (See pictures of Putin's youth camp...
...helm of snobby glossy British magazine Tatler, as editor. Such a choice wouldn't signal an emphasis on hard news but an advisory board full of big hitters could certainly help to open doors. Names reported to be in the frame include Gorbachev and Tony Blair. His priority, Lebedev told a hastily convened press conference in Moscow, is to ensure the Standard's survival. "I don't want it to be said that some Russian idiot and former spy came along and bought it only for it to close down," he said. - with reporting by Yuri Zarakhovich / Moscow...