Gazprom Head Shakes His Deputies Up

He is going to redistribute official duties among his deputies. The move follows the resignation of the last member of the old Gazprom team - Pyotr Rodionov. Rodionov was named first deputy chief executive in September, replacing Vyacheslav Sheremet. His post took Alexander Ananenkov on Monday. Gazprom is Russia's biggest company, it accounts for 8% of gross domestic product and for a fifth of Russia's export revenues and taxes. Gazprom controls almost 25% of the world's gas reserves. The gas giant dominates Russia's political and corporate scene. Gazprom has a total of 550,000 shareholders. The state owns more than 38% of Gazprom's charter capital. Gazprom net profit in 2000 amounted to more than $2 billion. Gazprom has been plagued by scandal, including allegations of mismanagement, corruption and nepotism so far. It was a key figure in a recent scandal around Russia's independent TV station NTV. In September the Russian Nezavisimaya gazeta newspaper published a report by former Gazprom deputy head Sergei Dubinin saying that the finance situation in the company is very similar to that on the eve of August 17 crisis in Russia. The document told that Gazprom's budget was failing to handle "the credit pyramid" and the only way to avoid financial collapse is to contract more debts. Dubinin urges that the situation may have dramatic consequences for both Gazprom itself and the nation.