The Russian government plans to purchase another natural resources giant Norilsk Nickel through a state-owned company that specializes in diamonds ALROSA. Vladimir Potanin, one of the richest Russian oligarchs, has decided that it’s time to bail out. Norilsk Nickel is worth 16.5 billion dollars.

As Russia Blog has mentioned before, Mikhail Khodorkovsky made the mistake of not cooperating with the government, and he tried to sell his hard assets to foreigners. The oligarchs are welcome to milk the cow, and put the milk in offshore accounts, but they cannot sell the cow.

A new presidential election is coming up, and no one knows yet who is going to replace Putin. The corrupt “system” might become unstable, and Russian oligarchs can either 1) lose their companies, or 2) lose their freedom. Abramovich set an example for his fellow oligarchs by bailing out and leaving Russia behind with pockets full of cash. He could have sold Sibneft for a more if it had gone public, but he does not want to join Khodorkovsky in Siberia next to the Chinese border. Furthermore, in a single day the assets Abramovich appropriated from the Soviet Union over several years became cash in British and Swiss banks.

Alexander Hloponin, governor of Krasnoyarsky Kray, a region rich in metals, issued a statement supporting the negotiations between Potanin and the Russian government. The governor used a very interesting phrase: “The government and the President are controlling the situation very strongly. Russian companies should be controlled by Russian stock-holders, and there will be no attempts to sell them to the Western corporations. Our companies will be working and benefiting our country and our citizens”.