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10/17/2008: "Putin May Use Credit Squeeze to `Destroy' Oligarchs"

Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000 vowing to destroy Russia's oligarchs "as a class.'' Within two years, he'd driven two into exile and imprisoned another.

Now, he may use the global markets meltdown to finish the job.

The $50 billion that the prime minister and President Dmitry Medvedev have pledged to lend cash-strapped companies will extend state control over business leaders. Billionaires seeking bailouts - including Oleg Deripaska, Russia's richest man, and Mikhail Fridman - will have to give authorities veto power over their companies' financing decisions.

"This will give the state more leverage over the country's biggest companies and main industries,'' said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib Financial Corp in Moscow. "In 2008, there is only one real oligarch: the state.''

[ A very sensible plan, whatever you think of Putin. ]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&sid=aR7ZSZbKh0so