The BBC's Moscow correspondent Daniel Sandford said there had been a lot of interest in the case in Russia as it shed light on the controversial sale of Russia's mineral wealth by the state to a small group of oligarchs in the early 1990s.

BBC: Roman Abramovich wins court battle against Berezovsky

ISU's advisory board is packed with space influencers, including Daniel Goldin, the head of NASA, and representatives from the space agencies of Japan, Russia and France.

FORBES: The Space Mafia

He succeeded Daniel Tarschys, a Swede who presided over some of the council's more controversial admissions, including that of Russia.

ECONOMIST: Walter Schwimmer, timid moral policeman | The