Russia's Yukos Oil Arrest

By Cynthia Kirk
Broadcast: November 8, 2003

This is Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS, from VOA Special English.
Many investors¹ are 1)concerned about the possible effects on the Russian economy from the arrest of the top official of Yukos Oil. That is Russia's largest oil company. Mikhail Khodorkovsky was jailed last month on charges of failing to pay taxes and other economic crimes. This week, he resigned as chief executive. Mister Khodorkovsky denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers say the charges are political.
Yukos Oil has lost market value. The Russian government has threatened to take away the rights of the company to develop important oil fields. Yukos could also lose its rights to operate some of the Siberian oilfields it depends on.
Yukos Oil became a private company after the end of the Soviet² Union twelve years ago. It has grown into the fourth largest energy supplier in the world.
Russia's economic growth in recent years has been largely based on oil sales. Russia has the world's largest oil reserves. It is the second biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. Foreign companies have invested a lot of money in Russian oil projects.
Critics say the government organized the arrest of Mister Khodorkovsky to punish him for his political activities. He has criticized the government of President Vladimir Putin. He has given money to opposition³ parties. And he has had wide 2)influence in the Russian parliament.
President Putin had made an agreement with Russia's business leaders. These leaders became rich under former President Boris Yelstin. They bought state-owned businesses at low prices in the early nineteen-nineties. Many of these agreements, however, were considered 3)illegal.
At a meeting in early two-thousand, Mister Putin told the business leaders to stay out of politics or risk losing their companies. Two of them used their television stations to attack the president. They were later forced into exile.
Mister Putin has been widely criticized in the West for appearing to unfairly 4)target a political opponent. His closest aide resigned in protest over the arrest of Mister Khodorkovsky. Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov also has publicly opposed the president.
Russian businessmen say they fear that the investigation⁴ of Yukos Oil will spread. One aide to Mister Khodorkovsky requested Israeli citizenship⁵. Two others 5)fled to London.
Mister Putin says his government supports business and a market economy. On Thursday, the president said the arrest would not lead to any changes in economic or political policy. He said high-level officials in the Interior Ministry⁶ were arrested too. He said the actions are guided by the desire to establish law and order and fight economic crime in Russia.
Yukos Oil has named a Russian-born American to take Mister Khodorkovsky's place.
IN THE NEWS, from VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

注释：
1) concerned [kEn5sE:nd] adj.关心的, 有关的
2) influence [5influEns] n.影响,势力
3) illegal [i5li:^El] adj.违法的
4) target [5tB:^it] n.目标, 对象
5) flee to  逃往

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。