restricting competition in the oil production and refining markets. In October 2005, then-prime minister of Lithuania, Algirdas Brazauskas, was in the center of the scandal involving Lukoil. The opposition of the Lithuanian parliament, Homeland Union, began collecting signatures for the creation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the entrepreneurial activity of Brazauskas' wife, Christina Butrimene-Brazauskiene, in particular with the acquisition of a 38% stake in the elite Vilnius Crowne Plaza hotel from the wife of the head of the Lukoil-Baltija company. The charges were related to Lukoil's contention at that time for a stake in one of the largest enterprises in Lithuania, the oil refinery ORLEN Lietuva, part of Polish energy company ORLEN. Brazauskas rejected allegations of corruption, but admitted his wife owns 51% of the hotel shares, and another 48% belong to his son. On November 22, at the insistence of the country's president Valdas Adamkus, Algirdas Brazauskas spoke on television, saying he was not involved in the privatization of the hotel, and that all charges should be considered by law enforcement bodies, not by the parliamentary commission. On September 14, 2012, more than fifty Lukoil gas station owners in New Jersey and Pennsylvania temporarily raised their prices to over $8 a gallon to protest Lukoil's wholesale gas pricing. The owners are typically charged a wholesale price that is 5 to 10 cents a gallon more than their competitors and some are assessed an additional 25 to 30 cents per gallon based on their location. According to the station owners this makes it difficult to be competitive with stations that sell more established brands for lower prices. In March 2016, there were accusations by the press of the company not acquiring rights to part of the Massandra vineyards in Crimea. See also List of companies of Russia Petroleum industry of Russia Companies of comparable role Exxon-Mobil Shell plc 2022 Russian businessmen suspicious deaths References External links Oil companies of Russia Natural gas companies of Russia Companies based in Moscow Retail companies established in 1991 Energy companies established in 1991 Non-renewable resource companies established in 1991 1991 establishments in Russia Multinational companies headquartered in Russia Companies listed on the Moscow Exchange Automotive fuel retailers Russian brands