Putin's Oil: The Yukos Affair and the Struggle for Russia

“This history of the rise and fall of the Yukos company reads like a nineteenth century Russian novel in which titans battle for a nation’s soul… We are grateful to Mr Sixsmith for the work he has done in telling this sordid story.” ―Contemporary Review

“Martin Sixsmith, a former BBC journalist, picks his way through this battlefield – lucidly, insightfully, quickly – by following the trail of events that led to the fall of Khodorkovsky and his Yukos empire.” ―European Voice

“Martin Sixsmith’s seductive blend of investigative journalism and contemporary history charts the rise and fall over nearly 20 years of Russia’s oil giant Yukos and its main proprietor Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky.” ―International Affairs

“this is a test” ―tim dennis, Theology

Martin Sixsmith is a bestselling author, television and radio presenter and journalist.

He began working at the BBC in 1980 as a foreign correspondent, reporting from Moscow during the end of the Cold War, the era of Perestroika, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In 1997, he went to work for the government of Tony Blair as Director of Communications and Press Secretary to Harriet Harman and then to Alistair Darling. He then served as Director of Communication at the Department for Transport, Local Government, and the Regions.

Sixsmith is the author of two political novels, Spin and I Heard Lenin Laugh. He has also published an account of the Litvinenko murder, The Litvinenko File, and made a documentary film in 2008 exploring the legacy of the KGB in today’s Russia and the FSB.

His book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee was turned into a hugely successful film in 2013, starring Judi Dench.