Russian energy chief survives assassination attempt

The head of Russia’s state-controlled electricity monopoly survived an assassination attempt today when unidentified gunmen fired at his car as he was heading to work, officials said.

Anatoly Chubais, the head of Unified Energy Systems, was the architect of Russia’s controversial privatisation program in the early 1990s.

Chubais came under attack as he was being driven to work from his country home outside Moscow, said his spokesman, Andrei Trapeznikov, adding that he was not hurt.