The Life of the Oligarchs

When it comes to oligarchs, Vladimir Putin is a choosy ruler. He likes some, he hates some, and sometimes an oligarch can move from one to the other category with some dispatch. So was the fate of Mikhail Gutseriev, who until recently was head of a Russian oil company called Russneft. Putin decided that he wanted one of his favored oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska, to take over the company. Gutseriev resisted. He accused Putin of forcing him to sell. Then, in a story told previously with other Russian billionaires, Russian prosecutors went after him with criminal charges. He's now wanted in Russia for alleged fraud and money laundering, and is seeking asylum in Great Britain, the home of many such Russian outcasts.

This week, the newsletter Nefte Compass has a scoop that Gutseriev has meanwhile become an Azerbaijani oil baron. With $340 million, he has purchased the Azeri holdings of Nations Energy, the Canadian company that last year sold its Kazakh oilfields to China's Citic Resources for $1.9 billion, and made a group of Westerners very rich men.

Azerbaijan, which isn't very close to Moscow these days, is apparently safe ground for Putin's enemies. The suspicion that accompanies such prosecutions is fueled by Putin's custom of pursuing them after a powerful person refuses to bend to his will.