- Khodorkovsky is a notable Russian businessman and philanthropist who secured a net worth of 15 billion dollars in dubious ways (he was once Russia's richest man).
- Khodorvkosky was known as an "oligarch"- a term applied to men who seized unrivaled amounts of money and power after the fall of the communist regime
- Khodorkovsky opened up a cafe during Gorbachev's rule, which soon turned into a trading company and then a bank
- In 1995 Khodorkovsky acquired the oil company Yukos, and expanded the company to unimaginable heights using some transactions that were widely seen as corrupt
- Khodorkovsky's political ambitions soon clashed with Putin's. Yukos sponsored youth programs that advocated student government and quasi-democratic ideals. Khodorkovsky was always critical of Putin's "managed democracy", in which authoritarian power checked individual liberties and an open, transparent political process
- In 2003 Khodorkovsky was arrested on dubious charges of fraud and tax evasion.
- In 2005 he was sentenced to a medium security prison for 9 years. As Khodorkovsky made his transition to imprisonment several third/independent parties as well as Western governments showed support for the former oligarch.
- As his second trial closed in 2010, Khodorkovsky famously declared his final words:
- I am ashamed for my country.
- Your honour, I think we all perfectly understand the significance of our trial extends far beyond the fates of Platon [Lebedev] and myself. And even beyond the fates of all those who have innocently suffered in the course of the reprisals against YUKOS that have taken place on such a huge scale, those I found myself unable to protect, but about whom I have not forgotten. I remember every day.
- Let's ask ourselves, what does the entrepreneur, the top class organizer of production, or simply an educated, creative individual, think today looking at our trial and knowing that the result is absolutely predictable?
- The obvious conclusion a thinking person would come to is chilling in its simplicity: the bureaucratic and law enforcement machine can do whatever it wants. There is no right of private property. No person who conflicts with the "system" has any rights whatsoever.
- Even when enshrined in law, rights are not protected by the courts. Because the courts are either also afraid, or are part of the "system". Does it come as a surprise that thinking people do not strive to realize themselves here in Russia?
He continued:
- I am far from being an ideal person, but I am a person with ideals. For me, as for anybody, it is hard to live in prison, and I do not want to die here.
- But if I have to, I will have no hesitation. What I believe in is worth dying for. I think I have shown this.
- Now here are some possible explanations for why Putin is going to release Khodorkovsky in the near future:
- 1. As Russia gears up for the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Putin wants to ease Russia's repression of human rights and show that the country gives its citizens ample civil liberties.
- 2. At his 4-hour press conference this morning, Putin showed surprising buoyancy and confidence in his words. In previous press conferences he grudgingly answered questions from news agencies with great hesitance. In this specific conference, however, he shined and confidently talked back to the press. This might be another move in Putin's campaign to show off Russia's strength towards the West. In other words, by releasing Khodorvsky, he's sending a message that no third parties or famous foes can bring his administration down.
- 3. Behind-the-scene deals. In my opinion this explanation for Khodorkovsky's release is highly unlikely, but perhaps Putin cut a deal with Khodorkovsky or the West for release. Perhaps the deal involved money, stakes in his oil firm, or could it be related to Edward Snowden? Anything's possible!
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