Changing fortunes

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It was an up-and-down week for Russia's oligarchs. A good one for Roman Abramovich (worth $5.7 billion, according to Forbes), who bought himself the ultimate bauble, a sports team: London's Chelsea Football Club.

Not so good for Mikhail Khodorkovsky ($8 billion) of the giant Yukos group, who was questioned by state prosecutors investigating corruption. And downright terrible for Platon Lebedev ($1 billion), head of Khodorkovsky's finance arm Menatep, who was arrested on fraud charges in connection with the privatization of a fertilizer plant in 1994. Khodorkovsky, Russia's richest man, was questioned in connection with the Lebedev case, but many believe his problems are political, not criminal.

He is helping fund opposition parties in the December elections for the Duma, or lower house of parliament. This has broken an unwritten rule in Russia: oligarchs are either pro-Kremlin or rigorously apolitical. President Vladimir Putin has in the past crushed businessmen who crossed him. This time, though, he may be attacking one of the world's largest oil companies. And that could impact both the stock market and Russia's image among investors.