Vladimir V. Putin
PER
Vladimir V. Putin Putin
Before the government began dismantling the company in a back-tax case in 2004, President Vladimir V. Putin had said that the Russian government would never bankrupt Yukos. The 2004 seizure of Yukos's main Western Siberian production unit undermined investor confidence in Mr. Putin's management of the Russian economy, though the market has since rebounded on high oil prices.