In particular, some executives of YUKOS and MENATEP testified to the Senate, a huge blow to Putin in a hearing that is entitled “Democracy in Retreat in Russia”:

The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing yesterday (February 17) on “Democracy in Retreat in Russia.” The star witnesses were Steven Theede, the embattled Yukos oil company’s chief executive officer, and Tim Osborne, a member of the board of directors of Group Menatep, Yukos’ parent company.

In a written statement provided to the committee and posted on its website, Theede accused the Russian government of carrying out “a ruthless and unprecedented campaign against Yukos by way of dubious and discriminatory taxes, illegal expropriation of property, arrests, and intimidation.” He also said that Russia had reversed its commitment to privatization and “chosen instead to increase the role of the state” while ignoring “the Western-style reformist laws it passed over the past several years when those laws conflict with the interests of the Kremlin.” The result, he said, is that in Russia today, “There are no guarantees of due process, no adherence to the rule of law, and no protections for the rights of shareholders or property owners” (Foreign.senate.gov). Theede also told the committee that the campaign against Yukos had dealt “an important economic blow” to “America’s energy security” (Moscow Times, February 18).

There is a whole lot more.