According to him, Mr. Gerashchenko proved it after the 1998 default, when he took over as Chairman of the Central Bank and “made a great contribution to the overall macroeconomic stabilization of Russia”. “It was not just political order, which led to today’s excellent position, but it was the Central Bank, which under his firm guidance did the right thing and was able to create conditions, which allows the present relative wellbeing of the country,” Mr. Rudloff stressed. “Mr. Gerashchenko has proven in the many years of his activities that he has the diplomacy, the intellect to handle extremely complicated matters and most likely he was called for that very reason,” he added.

On the situation at YUKOS, Mr. Rudloff said one should not speak about real bankruptcy here. “Technical bankruptcies are always possible. But one thing we all know about YUKOS is that there are enormous assets there. There is an enormous substance within the company and if there should be technical problems they can be resolved relatively rapidly,” he said . “I think that YUKOS is a great company which has a great future ahead of itself once it gets out of these disputes and is allowed to operate under normal conditions,” Mr. Rudloff stressed.

On Tuesday, Mr. Gerashchenko agreed to be nominated as a member of the YUKOS Board. He said there was an agreement on a three year contract. According to him, the nomination was made by YUKOS’s management and the Board of Directors, and it was supported by the company’s major shareholders.

Mr. Gerashchenko said YUKOS was “one of the largest oil companies in the world, which has great prospects”. When asked about consultations with the Kremlin about his nomination, the former Chairman of the Central Bank said he personally had not had any consultations with the Kremlin on the issue. If he was elected to the YUKOS Board, he said, he would leave the State Duma.