Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a seat on the board of directors of the state-owned oil company Rosneft to former Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, Russian media reported last week.
The business publication Kommersant reported Dec. 13 that Putin, in addition, offered Evans chairmanship of Rosneft.
The move is viewed as an attempt to boost the image of Rosneft and Russia in the aftermath of the Yukos affair.
Reports said the offer is part of Putin’s effort to place Western political leaders into Russian businesses to assure foreign investors.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder recently announced he had gone to work for Russia's Gazprom, which is seeking to build a pipeline to the Baltic Sea.
A report in the Novaya Gazeta stated that the new Moscow "strategy" is to name "prominent foreigners" to business positions as a "living guarantee" to protect business interests and promote "Putin-linked" businesses internationally.
