Playing with Fire

They were so broke they couldn't even pay salaries.

So naturally, they had to find ways to "generate revenue"!

After looking through everything, only a few industries were still doing well, with energy accounting for the overwhelming majority.

So it was easy to understand why someone wanted to target the oil industry—Yukos Group.

To put it bluntly, if they could take down Yukos Group and nationalize it, the country's fiscal difficulties would basically be more than half resolved!

Of course, as always, without a legal and compliant reason, it would not be easy to lay a hand on Yukos Group.

After all, this was a civilized society now. They had to consider international public opinion and the consequences.

But within the limits permitted by the rules, it would not be difficult to put Yukos Group in a chokehold.

After thinking it through, Wang Ye gave a bitter smile. It seemed that some things remained impossible to change, even with his appearance.

The Kremlin was not determined to go against the oligarchs.

The irreconcilable conflict between the two sides was not really...

At the very least, it was not just about differing political views. More importantly, it was probably caused by economic issues.

No matter who sat in that position at the Kremlin, if they wanted to keep the government from "going bankrupt" over fiscal problems, they could only target the major oligarchs. After all, only those oligarchs had enough money to solve the government's problems!

Who knew who had come up with this "brilliant idea"—to fleece Yukos Group by stripping it of its export rights. Doing so would practically seize all of Yukos Group's profits.

The oil industry, which had once been enormously profitable, would be reduced to earning only a little hard-earned money. It would be good enough if