PUTIN'S OIL: THE YUKOS AFFAIR AND THE STRUGGLE FOR RUSSIA

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.