Sechin steps down at Rosneft
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Sechin (left, seen here with Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz) is one of the most powerful, and secretive, men in power in Russia.
Igor Sechin, one of the most powerful men in the Russian government, stepped down late Tuesday as chairman of the board of state oil company Rosneft.
The move came nine days after President Medvedev said that government ministers would have to quit their posts in state companies, widely seen as a swipe against Sechin, one of Prime Minister Putin’s most trusted confidantes. Sechin is the first of the ministers to step down.
The move puts two situations in jeopardy:
1. What does it mean for the rumored fight between Medvedev and Putin’s camps as the country prepares for a presidential election next year?
2. Is BP’s deal with Rosneft, personally brokered through Sechin, now left without any hope?
Watch this space.
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