Then there was oil, in particular Sibneft, a large company now striving for respectability, whose spokesmen get tongue-tied when asked about Mr Berezovsky's exact role in it.

ECONOMIST: Boris Berezovsky, puppeteer or future victim?

Last year, Gazprom, the giant state gas company, bought Sibneft, a private Russian oil producer.

ECONOMIST: Pipeline politics | The

That accolade goes to Sibneft, which would set up a new company every quarter into which it poured its profits, and which Sibneft would subsequently buy for a dollar.

ECONOMIST: Buttonwood