Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was once Russia's wealthiest man and is now President Putin's most prominent critic in exile, has told the BBC a Western oil and gas embargo would deal the president. He and his partners obtained a banking license, supposedly from money made from selling secondhand computers, to create Bank Menatep in 1989. "[27], A cartoonist present at the trial created a cartoon series depicting the events. [64], In December 2014, The Guardian reported that Khodorkovsky, living in Zurich, was "plotting the downfall of the man who put him behind bars for a decade. That is what landed him in prison and what has kept him there. "[126] He also said at Freedom House that "Russia has been wasting time these past 10 years Now is when we must begin to make up this lost time. [117], Khodorkovsky's mother died in the summer of 2014. [130][131], In August 2015, the Kremlin summoned Khodorkovsky's father for questioning. Mikhail Khodorkovsky Net Worth - Employment Security Commission - NCESC [9] He was considered to be a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. [121][122][123] Khodorkovsky said that the organization would promote independent media, political education, rule of law, support for activists and journalists, free and fair elections, and a program to reform law enforcement and the Russian judicial system. practice in itself. However, he was politically ambitious and prosecuting Russia's most prominent and successful tycoon was perceived as a boost to his political career and intended candidacy for the Duma. Theoretically there are civil rights enshrined in the constitution; in practice you are not able to exercise some of these rights. [22], Khodorkovsky also served as an economic adviser to the first government of Boris Yeltsin. [20] The verdict of the trial, repeating the prosecutors' indictments almost verbatim, was 662 pages long. Q&A: Exiled Russian oil tycoon who backed reporters killed in Africa Pavel Ivlev, a tax lawyer who went along as their attorney, later explained that officials had illegally interrogated him and threatened to arrest him. Media reaction in Moscow was almost universally negative in blanket coverage, some of the more enthusiastic pro-business press discussed the end of capitalism, while even the government-owned press criticised the "absurd" method of Khodorkovsky's arrest. Taking into account the time already served, Khodorkovsky was to be released in 2017. Putin wants to live. . 4, and dedicated it to him. Nevzlin described Khodorkovsky as a "data addict", a man with "an iron will," and "someone dependent on human stimulus for information and ideas." Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former CEO of the Russian oil giant Yukos, used to be Russia's richest man. [128], Khodorkovsky's book My Fellow Prisoners, a collection of sketches about his life in prison, was published in 2014. But the conflict with the U.S. and Russia will not end while Putin is in power., This is a BETA experience. This was with particular reference to supposedly "illegal actions" he had taken in the privatisation of the State-owned mining and fertiliser company Apatit. Although Khodorkovsky "has strong emotions," Nevzlin said, he is capable of turning them off. With the help of some powerful people, he started his business activities under the cover of Komsomol. The Prosecutor-General, Vladimir Ustinov, was appointed by the former President Boris Yeltsin. "[42], In addition, Khodorkovsky has received admiration and support from members of the UK parliament who have noted the decline of human rights in Russia. In 2004, Forbes estimated he was the richest person in Russia, and 15th wealthiest in the world, worth some $15 billion. Photograph: Courtesy: TIFF. Exiled Russian Oligarch Khodorkovsky on the Real McMafia, Vladimir But thats not the case at all. And then, at best, people were unable to succeed in their career and, at worst, found themselves in jail. In Germany after World War II, a controlling stake in BMW was sold for the price equal to 50 of its cars. [1] In 2003, Khodorkovsky was believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia, with a fortune estimated to be worth $15billion, and was ranked 16th on Forbes list of billionaires. article in Vedomosti, arguing that "authoritarianism in its current Russian form does not meet many key humanitarian requirements customary for any country that wishes to consider itself modern and European. "[20], In prison, Khodorkovsky announced that he would research and write a PhD dissertation on the topic of Russian oil policy. In 2003, Khodorkovsky's shares in Yukos passed to Jacob Rothschild under a deal that they had concluded prior to Khodorkovsky's arrest.[37][38][39]. [14], On 23 December 2015, a Russian court issued an international arrest warrant for Khodorkovsky whom the Investigative Committee of Russia charged with ordering the murder of Vladimir Petukhov, the mayor of Nefteyugansk, who was murdered in June 1998. On 1 August 2005, a political essay written by Khodorkovsky in his prison cell, titled "Left Turn", was published in Vedomosti, calling for a turn to a more socially responsible state. He spoke of his countrymen's hopes "that Russia will finally become a land of freedom and the law, and the law will be more important than the bureaucrats", a country where "human rights will no longer be contingent on the whim of the czar, whether he be kind or mean. The 2010 case would have had them released 13 years after the day of their arrests in 2003. In 2010 he told The Times: "It is the Singapore model, it is a term that people understand in Russia these days. As young and ambitious, he became the deputy head of Komsomol at his University from which he graduated with a degree in Chemical engineering in 1986. [19] Khodorkovsky's father was Jewish, and his mother was Russian Orthodox (Christian). [143], On 20 December 2013, Putin signed a pardon freeing Khodorkovsky. The protests were initiated by the Open Russia organization founded by Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, an exiled former oil tycoon. It has yet to be determined who is behind the organization, and opposition figures are concerned over the attacks. Khodorkovsky said: Many years later I talked with people and asked them, why didn't you start doing the same thing? Gessen describes the trial as a "travesty" and "a Kafka-esque procedure", with the government spending months "on an incoherent account of alleged violations that were criminalized after they were committed, or that were in fact legal activities." [21] 7 of Segezha, in the northern region of Karelia near the Finnish border. Total isolation. Mikhail Khodorkovsky - The New York Times The opening of the center eventually made possible the founding of Bank Menatep.[23]. [127], On 2 December 2014, Khodorkovsky addressed the European Parliament. Reporting on his comments, the Associated Press stated that "The 50-year-old appeared composed at his first public appearance since his release, saying he shouldn't be viewed as a symbol that there are no more political prisoners in Russia. I do not intend to comment on the ins and outs of this case which saw Yukos, a privately owned oil company, made bankrupt and broken up for the benefit of the state owned company Rosneft. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former Yukos boss who was imprisoned in Siberia, won't see a dime from the settlement. "During the failed 1991 coup by Communist hard-liners", Gessen wrote, "he was on the barricades in front of Moscow's White House, helping to defend the government." The family were moderately well off, living in a two-room flat in a concrete block in the suburbs of Moscow. [citation needed], On 28 January 2008, Khodorkovsky began a hunger strike[56] to help his associate Vasily Aleksanyan, who is ill and was held in jail and who was denied the medical treatment he needed. A week after the arrest, the Prosecutor-General froze Khodorkovsky's shares in Yukos to prevent Khodorkovsky from selling his shares although he retained all the shares' voting rights and received dividends. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Fuel and Energy of Russia in March 1993. He was not seen as particularly close to Putin, who had once tried to remove him. After leaving the prosecutor's office, he immediately fled the country. Because any head of an institute had more possibilities than I had, by an order of magnitude. June 18 2022 Receive free Russian politics updates We'll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Russian politics news every morning. Almost a decade ago, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, then the owner of the Yukos Oil Company and Russia's richest man, completely miscalculated the consequences of standing up to Vladimir Putin, then. [103][104] On 24 December, Khodorkovsky was interviewed in his Berlin hotel room on the BBC television program Hardtalk. In addition to importing and reselling computers, the "scientific" center was involved in trading a wide range of other products. One of Russia's famed " oligarchs ," he was convicted of those crimes and others before being released in 2013. They had a son, Pavel. [25] Vladimir Kirillovich Golitsyn or "Mickey" Galitzine had previously headed the Eastern European business at the Bank of New York and travelled for the first time to Russia in 1990. [15], Following his pardon and release from prison on 20 December 2013 at the same time as members of the protest group Pussy Riot,[113] Khodorkovsky made only a few public appearances until the revolution broke out in Ukraine. ", Nevzlin did just that and moved to Israel. In 2011, Kuchma admitted that he had been told to attack Khodorkovsky "by unknown persons who had come to the prison colony and beaten and threatened him. "[13], A 3 October 2014, article in the Wall Street Journal stated that Khodorkovsky planned "to bring about a constitutional conference that would shift power away from the Russian presidency and toward the legislature and judiciary." Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian opposition figure and former oligarch, at a news conference in Lithuania on Aug. 20, 2021. "[20], "At the root of the conflict between Putin and Khodorkovsky", stated writer and activist Masha Gessen in April 2012, "lies a basic difference in character. Unconditionally including myself in that part of society that has liberal views, I see: ahead is a Turn to the Left. With partners from Komsomol, and technically operating under its authority, Khodorkovsky opened his first business in 1986, a private caf. Masha Gessen wrote that they faced a dilemma raising Mikhail: Speak your mind about the Soviet Union and risk making your child miserable, with the constant need for doublethink and doublespeak, or try to raise a contented conformist. On 9 March 2014, Khodorkovsky spoke at Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv, where he accused the Russian government of complicity in the killing of protesters.[114][115]. He found the situation "terrifying", but when Khodorkovsky returned from Poland he said, "Let me go home, take a shower, get some sleep, and we'll talk about it tomorrow morning." [84], According to his official site, Khodorkovsky would have been eligible for early release, but an alleged conspiracy involving jail guards and a cellmate resulted in a statement that he had violated one of the prison rules. [15], In 2014, Khodorkovsky re-launched Open Russia to promote several reforms to Russian civil society, including free and fair elections, political education, protection of journalists and activists, endorsing the rule of law, and ensuring media independence. [85], It was predicted that he might be released by the middle of 2011,[86] although Khodorkovsky was found guilty on 27 December 2010 of fresh charges of embezzlement and money laundering, which had the potential of leading to a new sentence of up to 22.5 years. Thanks to the support of thousands of people around the world and the personal intervention of the United States President, George W. Bush, she was released in April 2009 after giving birth to a girl on 28 November 2008. They can take two weeks to read", "Assemble parlementaire du Conseil de l'Europe", "KHODORKOVSKY IMPRISONMENT HIGHLIGHTED IN BRITISH PARLIAMENT", "Wiesel Kicks Off Campaign To Free Khodorkovsky Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty 2010", Amnesty International document (in German), "Russian Dissident Opens New Chapter in His Anti-Putin Movement", "Khodorkovsky's Cell Mate Names Names in 'Forced' 2006 Attack", "Khodorkovsky Calls Off the Hunger Strike", " : 3. [81], On 24 May 2011, Khodorkovsky's appeal hearing was held, and Judge Danilkin rejected the challenge. In November 2022 Khodorkovsky published on the internet, a book in both Russian and English languages entitled "HOW DO YOU SLAY A DRAGON? And II did not remember this! [98][99][100][13] The Guardian reported in December 2014 that Khodorkovsky had "promised Putin three things in a handwritten letter" in which he asked to be freed: "that he would leave Russia to spend time with his family, would stay away from politics, and would not attempt to win back his shares in Yukos or get involved in any court cases." With 19.5 billion barrels (3 km) of oil and gas, the merged entity would have owned the second-largest oil and gas reserves in the world after ExxonMobil and would have been the fourth largest in the world in terms of production, pumping 2.3 million barrels (370,000 m) of crude a day. "[20], Khodorkovsky delivered his own summation at his second trial. Ex-Russian oil tycoon: This is the price for opposing Putin | CNN In March 2014, Khodorkovsky was presented with the "Man of the Year" award by the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. perestroika", "A Turn to the Left 3: Global Perestroika", "Russia's Khodorkovsky ends two-day hunger strike", "Russian ex-tycoon Khodorkovsky threatens hunger strike", "Russian court cuts Khodorkovsky's jail term", "Mikhail Khodorkovsky's case: The Trial, part two", Khodorkovsky's Opinion Editorial in Vedomosti: Generation M, Khodorkovsky: Conveyor Belt of Russian Justice Legalizes Abuse, "Russia seeks 14-year sentence for Khodorkovsky", "Obama Raises Concerns About Freedom and Judicial Independence in Russia", "Vladimir Putin Defends Central Control in Russia", "Khodorkovsky Was Denied Right to Fair Russian Trial, Court Says", "European Court Rules Russia's Khodorkovsky Denied Fair Trial", "Broken Justice: how Khodorkovsky judge was pressured into verdict", "Natalia Vasilyeva Has Gone Through Polygraph", "Khodorkovsky verdict was ordered from above, claims judge's assistant", "25.10.2013 Worldwide Reading in Solidarity with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev and all Political Prisoners in Russia Worldwide Reading", "Mikhail Khodorkovsky Sent to Penal Colony Near Finland", "Statements: 'I'm constantly reminded that I'm in jail until further notice', "In brief: Clark Rockefeller; Kashmir; Somalia; Karadzic; Iraq", "Obama, Clinton blast Khodorkovsky ruling", "U.S., Europe condemn Russia for tough Mikhail Khodorkovsky sentence", "William Hague expresses concern at Mikhail Khodorkovsky sentence", "Medvedev Orders Review of Tycoon's Conviction", "Putin Says Tycoon Could Be Freed From Prison Soon", "Russia's jailed tycoon Khodorkovsky to be pardoned", "Freed Russian oligarch has left for Germany", "Khodorkovsky arrives in Germany after Putin pardon", "Mikhail Khodorkovsky on life after prison and Russia after Putin", "Inside Germany's campaign to free Khodorkovsky", "Khodorkovsky Will Work to Free Political Inmates", "Freed oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky strikes magnanimous tone", "Transcript of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Open Press Conference in Berlin", Freed Russian Applies for Swiss Visa Allowing Travel in 26 Nations, "Hague court awards $50 bn compensation to Yukos shareholders", "Russian court orders arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky over contract killing", "Russia reopens 1998 murder probe; Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky is a suspect", "Russia Khodorkovsky: Court orders exiled tycoon's arrest", "Russian ex-tycoon Khodorkovsky may seek UK asylum", "Le "geste magnanime" de Vladimir Poutine envers l'opposition russe", "KHODORKOVSKY RECEIVES LECH WALESA AWARD", "Russia ordered to pay $50bn in damages to Yukos shareholders", "Russia misses deadline for $50 billion Yukos payment", "Arbitration awards on multi-billion claims against Russia quashed", "Mikhal Khodorkovski envisage de devenir prsident de la Russie", "Russie: l'opposant Khodorkovski lance un mouvement pro-europen "Open Russia", "Mikhail Khodorkovsky Launches Movement to Challenge Vladimir Putin", "Open Russia Announces Second Online Forum", "Khodorkovsky Declares Sudden Political Comeback", "Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Open Russia and Building Civil Society | A Conversation With Mikhail Khodorkovsky", "Putin Foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky Aims to Remake Russia", "Kremlin critic: Not all Russians support Putin", "Giant Banners in Moscow Serve As Warning To Putin Critics", "Giant poster taunts Russian opposition radio", "Russia summons Kremlin foe Khodorkovsky's father for questioning", "Khodorkovsky 'Accused' In Case Tied To Siberian Mayor's Killing", "Exiled Russian Oligarch Launches Contest to Find Putin Alternative", " " ", "Kritiker entwerfen auf Geheimtreffen drei Szenarien fr ein Russland ohne Putin", "Russia does not need a president, says Khodorkovsky in Lithuania", "Russian political opposition sign declaration in Europe against Putin's regime and war in Ukraine", "Russian opposition convenes in Berlin, signs joint declaration of political goals.
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