Russian metals giant Mechel's stocks continued plunging July 29 after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicly railed against the company for deceiving the Kremlin and swindling the Russian people. This has led to a flurry of rumors in Russia that Mechel could go the way of Yukos. While this is definitely possible, the developments surrounding Mechel also follow a trend that STRATFOR has been watching: a resumption of Russia's metals wars. Mechel's situation is even more complicated than a competition between metals companies because the Kremlin has stepped into this particular fray — showing that it, too, has a bone to pick with Mechel and the metals industry as a whole. The Russian government started hinting in 2007 that it could be interested in consolidating the country's metals sector , just as it had consolidated other major industries such as energy and defense.