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Another worker, who heads an oil crew, proudly showed off the new kitchen, fresh water and computers that Yukos has installed for the oil crew, which lifts about 500 tons of oil a day. But he doesn’t want to talk about Khodorkovsky, who provokes very mixed feelings in this town, where workers have drilled for oil since 1961.

Khodorkovsky and his partners gained control of Yukos in 1995-96 as the Russian government sold off some of its best oil producers to secure political support and cover a chronic shortage of cash after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Once Russia’s richest man, Khodorkovsky sought to build an investor-friendly image after battling with minority shareholders in the 1990s. But last year he fell foul of the Kremlin for what many think were his political ambitions. Khodorkovsky was arrested and is on trial for tax evasion, fraud and leading an organised criminal group. He denies the charges, which he says are politically motivated.

One Nefteyugansk resident, a woman who has worked at the gas section of the company for 25 years, said: “I am neutral in relation to him. At the start I was outraged but now I feel a bit sorry for him.”

For the inhabitants of this remote oil town — from Moscow it is as far away as London — the political battles seem irrelevant.

Another woman, who works with an oil-and-gas-producing crew, said: “What is bad is not knowing. Not knowing what will happen with our wages, with our work, with everything. This has been going on for so long and people are just tired of it, tired of the uncertainty.”

Russian ministers have assured jittery oil markets that oil exports and production from the world’s second-biggest producer will not be affected by the sale of Yugansk. But since the unit’s accounts were frozen in August, suppliers and contractors have not been paid and there is little left in the stores for essential maintenance.

Yugansk’s general director, Sergei Kudriashov, said in an interview in his Nefteyugansk office that production had declined in the second half of November and in December but that he hoped to hand over Yugansk in good condition as long as he continued to get electricity and access to the pipeline system.

Investment has been halted and contractors and suppliers are not being paid, including Schlumberger, the oilfield-services company that is owed $47m (£24m) by Yugansk.

“As long as I am here, there won’t be a collapse,” said Kudriashov. “But after that, it all depends on financing and how fast it can be restored.”

The town’s 107,000 inhabitants depend on Yugansk for their livelihood. It employs 6,000 workers directly. Another 30,000 are employed by suppliers and contractors, who have not been paid by Yugansk because cash has been short since the company’s accounts were frozen.

Yugansk’s social programme — including a mortgage support programme for workers — was halted in September and, although Yugansk has not laid off any people, some contractors have done so and there are rumours of mass redundancies.

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