Russia is expecting a net private capital flight of more than US$13 billion in the last six months of this year, in contrast to the first half of the year, when a net US$4.6-billion flowed into the country, the first sustained private capital inflow since the collapse of communism.
The crisis, caused by the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former head of the Yukos oil company, and the attack on Yukos, has contributed to the reversal of the positive trend.
Most directly, Simon Kukes, the newly appointed chief executive of Yukos, said he had little appetite for a merger with an international oil company, saying the company did not need the management expertise.
His comments come at a time when hardliners averse to such international tie-ups have returned to the Kremlin.
