Burson-Marsteller is advising and fielding global media inquiries for Russia's Yukos oil company as the country auctioned the company's largest unit in a controversial move on Sunday.

Mike Lake, managing director for B-M in Dallas, has served as Yukos' spokesman in the U.S. through bankruptcy hearings in Houston and the Dec. 20 auction in Moscow. Lake told O'Dwyer's the firm's primary job over the last year has been to maintain Yukos' relationships and provide information to Western media.

B-M this week is venting the ire of Yukos' management toward the auction of its Yoganskneftegas unit to an unknown Russian entity viewed suspiciously by some analysts and media. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston last week issued an injunction against participants in the auction leading to the withdrawl of the favored bidder, Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom.

Lake said a common misconception about the auction Yukos is working to fix is that the company's assets were auctioned off, which is not the case. The company auctioned a majority of shares in Yukos, not the company's assets. He noted Yukos is now navigating courts to fight the auction's result, but acknowledged the "law's never gotten in the way of the Russian government."

B-M's BKSH unit represents Yukos in D.C. to keep lawmakers abreast of political, legal and business developments. The Policy Partnership, based in London, also bolsters Yukos' communications efforts.

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