Western investors, long irked by the 20% limit on foreign ownership of Gazprom, Russia's natural gas monopoly, were heartened last week when President Vladimir Putin gave Gazprom the go-ahead to acquire Rosneft, the government's last major oil company. The move ups the state's 38% stake in Gazprom to a controlling one in the newly formed Gazpromneft, and paves the way for foreign investors' billions to flow into Russia. But Putin apparently announced his plan before his ministers had agreed on its details: Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko cooled expectations, saying that liberalization "doesn't mean...
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