In his first interview for three years, Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea FC, explains his relationship with the Kremlin, dismisses rumours of divorce, and reveals why he is quitting as governor of Chukotka

Khodorkovsky is serving an eight-year sentence in a Siberian penal colony. Berezovsky is in exile in London. Abramovich might appear to be the Kremlin's favourite oligarch.

The English pronoun 'you' translates into Russian in two ways: vy as a polite form, and ty for addressing friends. When Abramovich meets Putin, he uses vy. 'He is more senior than me,' he explained.