BP chief to meet Putin under Yukos shadow

His name may be taboo in the Kremlin, but jailed Yukos oil company founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky will hover in spirit over a meeting tomorrow between President Vladimir Putin and BP Chief Executive Lord Browne.

The jury is still out on whether the dismemberment of Yukos, once Russia’s biggest oil company, and Khodorkovsky’s criminal trial are Putin’s punishment for the political activities of a robber baron or a crude asset carve-up by powerful Kremlin players.