George Soros has some controversial history with Russia
Billionaire investor George Soros is continuing his very public campaign to keep major Western investors from putting money into Rosneft's initial public offering (IPO). Like its sister firm Gazprom, Rosneft is owned by the Russian state, and therefore owns assets seized by the Kremlin from Yukos.
Since acquiring Yukos' assets, Rosneft has made several bold moves. Last year, Rosneft and the Kremlin were criticized by the Wall Street Journal's editorial board for extending a job offer to Don Evans, President George W. Bush's first Secretary of Commerce, and a close friend from Bush's hometown of Midland, Texas.
Rosneft is hoping to raise $11 billion dollars with this initial public offering and bring in Western investors as minority stakeholders. Rosneft needs this capital to upgrade its aging network of pipelines and bring the latest extraction technologies into Siberian oil fields. Without this investment, it will be more difficult for Russia to expand production and help stabilize world oil prices.
Rosneft executives at a public photo op
On the other side, George Soros has a history of weighing in on the state of Russia's financial system and trying to influence politics in the former Soviet Union. Writing in the Financial Times in 1998, Soros urged the Yeltsin government to devalue the ruble. The devaluation did occur, but at a disastrous pace. Russians who were foolish enough to keep their money in Russian banks lost it all, as hyperinflation ravaged the economy. At that time, officials in the Yeltsin government blamed Soros for triggering speculation that accelerated the crisis. Soros of course, asks why he should be blamed for predicting and profiting from the Yeltsin government's failures.
Rosneft corporate logo
Soros has drawn the Kremlin's attention in the last few years for his financing of political movements in the former USSR, including groups that supported the Orange and Rose Revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia. The question of how much influence Soros' giving has on governments in the former Soviet republics and on U.S. foreign policy towards Russia is hotly debated in Washington, D.C.
Time magazine's cover depicting a global champion of philanthropy
Back home, many U.S. conservatives have criticized Soros as a malign influence on American politics, particularly for what they see as his advocacy for restricting U.S. sovereignty and freedom of action within multilateral global organizations. They also argue that the campaign finance reform legislation he supported has restricted freedom of speech and protects incumbent politicians by reducing funds available to challengers.
No one disputes the fact that after funding many campaign finance reform groups that claimed that they wanted to take "big money out of politics" by passing the McCain-Feingold law, Soros spent millions of dollars from his personal fortune to defeat President Bush in 2004.
A not-so-friendly view of Soros - from the American Right
