Putin blames the oligarchs

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has told Russia's most powerful businessmen that they must hold themselves responsible for the legal proceedings against some of their companies.

Mr Putin said the businessmen, commonly known as the oligarchs, had moulded the state through the political organisations they controlled, and they had to take the blame for the probes into their tax and business dealings.

His meeting with the tycoons comes after the launch of tax cases into a number of firms such as the car maker, Avtovaz, and the oil giant, Lukoil.

Since his election in March, Mr Putin has promised to distance himself from the small group of business leaders who built their empires during the transition to a market economy under the former president, Boris Yeltsin.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service