51.   Hiding important assets in obscure subsidiaries is a favorite strategy used by Russian companies to thwart hostile takeover bids.

52.   If a Russian company owned some of the oil, its government might be less inclined to shut off supplies during a crisis.

53.   If this happens, the lawyers have hinted that they will go after the assets the Bank of New York owns in several Russian companies through ADRs.

54.   In all, about a dozen big Russian companies have shares that trade in the United States.

55.   In June, Energia, the Russian company that operates the station, announced plans to keep it aloft indefinitely for use as a space tourism destination.

56.   In the last month, Dingman has reached agreements to invest in two Russian companies whose businesses relate to some of the larger holdings in the Czech Republic.

57.   In that period the government borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from Russian banks and oil companies and pledged its shares in Russian companies as collateral.

58.   Increasingly, Russian companies and the Russian business elite have also been getting into the act.

59.   In the end, Ms. Kagalovsky may wish she had examined some of her clients more closely, although doing business with Russian companies is never easy.

60.   Instead, Rohrabacher said, NASA should have dealt directly with private Russian companies.