Robert Amsterdam is quoted in today’s Globe and Mail article on Gazprom and Petro-Canada: However, critics of Mr. Putin’s regime argue that Western companies such as Petrocan are essentially doing deals with the devil by lobbying their governments to soften any criticism of the Russian political scene in order to land contracts there. Lawyer Robert Amsterdam, who represents jailed former OAO Yukos chief executive officer Mikhail Khodorkovsky, said Petrocan’s investment would be hostage to the political whims of Gazprom’s masters in the Kremlin. “They could have an agreement. They could even begin digging and they would still have no guarantee of what is going on,” Mr. Amsterdam said. “Gazprom is not a normal company; it is an extension of the presidential administration.”