Every war creates refugees. So it was in Russia yesterday, where the first victims from the bitter boardroom battle which has erupted between BP and the Russian billionaires with whom it owns TNK-BP began trickling out of the country.

According to sources close to the situation, a handful of foreign employees of Russia's third-largest oil producer were forced to leave after their visas were not renewed. They could be the first of many.

Robert Dudley, the American chief executive of TNK-BP, fired off an email to his almost 100 foreign workers, whose permits expire at various times this month, warning: "We are very likely to see the temporary relocation of some of our expatriate staff from Russia. ... Read full article