The ‘Yukos affair’, its motives and implications

Abstract:

When interpreting the 'Yukos affair', it is hard to focus on any single particular motive or explanation that would easily rationalise the government's actions against the company. The 'Yukos affair' is a multi-layered process with a number of different reasons for its cause. When one scrutinises the events around the company, the impression may be obtained that the Kremlin seemed at first not to have had any ultimate strategy; the authorities' position evolved as time went by. At first, the conflict was mainly of a political nature; economic factors did not arise until later, when the oil sector was undergoing changes in ownership.

The 'Yukos affair' was an important stage in the evolution of Russia's political system, indeed one of its turning points. The attack on Yukos took place - not coincidentally - just before the parliamentary elections, and influenced their results. The authorities' conflict with Russia's largest oil company has brought about a crisis within the political elite, and has ultimately led to a key shift within Vladimir Putin's inner circle. As a result, the 'old' Kremlin elite has lost its one-time significance and political influence, which it had acquired thanks to the former president Boris Yeltsin. Furthermore, the 'Yukos affair' brought about serious changes in the relations between government and big business - the business representatives have been ultimately deprived of any possibility to act autonomously.