I was with one of Oasis' managers yesterday during a conference call he had with the ruskies..I heard every word. It was very clear that the ruskie boss of FANS is a Stalinist and yesterday's actions were actually an expression of his own hatred of the chinese. It was probably the most rascist diatribe I have ever heard. When told that there were 300 people sitting on an aircraft at that moment he said "I dont care - not my problem - now yours". The guy actually laughed. When asked to explain why they had issued a permit and then withdrew it at departure time he said "I give it and I take it away.Simple. Now you will feel the full force of Russian might". And he went on to say "we don't need you Chinese over Russian sovereign territory".
The Oasis guy was diplomatic to the end. I dont know how he held it together. I understand that he went straight around to Boeing who then helped builds routes around the Ruskie airspace.