In a reversal of the privatisations of the 1990s, when the oligarchs dictated to a weak state the terms of the sell-off, the Russian government will dig into its cash reserves of nearly $560bn (€410bn, £319bn) to decide the fate of some of the country's most overleveraged businessmen by disbursing an $87bn rescue package.
The stock market collapse has erased more than $210bn from the oligarch's publicly traded holdings. Many have been forced to sell shares to meet margin calls on tens of billions of dollars in loans.
The global credit crisis is making it impossible to refinance $39bn in loans to foreign banks that fall due this year on international markets, while a further $115.7bn is due next year, according to the central bank.