Top businessmen not immune to Putins wrath

Prime Ministers personal handling of the business conflict in the town of Pikalevo has set a precedent in the public dressingdown of the countrys top businessmen for neglecting their social responsibility. More interesting is the fact that one of the people receiving the dressingdown was one of Russias most famous businessmen, Oleg Deripaska, who used to be the richest man in the country until the global financial crisis left him heavily in debt. The highpoint of the show was Putin virtually armtwisting him into signing a contract, which was needed for the factory to start working again. During the meeting, chaired by Putin, Deripaska was obviously unnerved, with cameras catching his every move and facial expression. Never before has a person of his caliber been publicly humiliated this way in modern Russia.