Russian authorities have thrown their weight behind putting former Yukos boss and tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky behind bars again in a case from 1998. The Russian billionaire, a bête noire of strongman Vladimir Putin, is accused in the murder of a Siberian mayor in Nefteyugansk, the town where Khodorkovsky’s oil company, Yukos, was headquartered at the time. The case, like so many more during Putin’s authoritarian rule, smacks of political vendetta at a time when Russia is losing its political footing due to a flailing military campaign in Syria, a wobbly economy and a highly inflammable standoff with Ankara over the shooting down of a war plane by Turkey.
Khodorkovsky, who backs the opposition against Putin, has been in self-imposed exile in Europe for two years now. He was released from prison in 2013 after ten years. His freedom came due to a presidential pardon following a clemency request to Putin. It then seemed that the oil tycoon’s troubles were over. But the unrelenting Kremlin goes after its enemies in a sustained way and so it did with Khodorkovsky. The oil magnate’s departure from Russia after his release signalled that he saw more trouble coming his way. Khodorkovsky was undaunted even after spending 10 years in the notorious Russian prison system and kept criticising the government’s policies.
Now Russia has issued an arrest warrant for him over an incident that took place 17 years ago. The arrest order followed a raid by armed police on the offices of Khodorkovsky’s Open Russia pro-democracy movement. It is likely that the hounding of Putin’s rival will intensify in the days to come. Khodorkovsky may seek political asylum in Britain to buttress his legal position as a Russian unwilling to go back to his country.
Several leading political prisoners remain behind bars in Russia, victims of a system reluctant to tolerate dissent. Putin has been lately focusing his energy on showing support for the likes of Donald Trump and Bashar Al Assad. While Trump has been hauled over the coals for his derogatory and delinquent comments against his presidential campaign rivals and women, Assad presides over a state ripped apart by civil war. Both individuals signify what is wrong with the system they exist in. So is true of Putin.
Blasting Russian authorities for the arrest warrant, Khodorkovsky has termed the raids on his office an act of intimidation. He called them the sign of an authoritarian regime that is close to its inevitable end. Khodorkovsky even quipped about the authorities: “They’ve gone mad. I realised that yesterday.”
In trying to drag an exiled tycoon back behind bars, the Russian dispensation seems to be focusing its energies on getting even with anyone that questions its authority. It is an attempt to distract Russians from the pains of their struggles and a bid to redeem Moscow’s overseas failures.
Russian authorities have thrown their weight behind putting former Yukos boss and tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky behind bars again in a case from 1998. The Russian billionaire, a bête noire of strongman Vladimir Putin, is accused in the murder of a Siberian mayor in Nefteyugansk, the town where Khodorkovsky’s oil company, Yukos, was headquartered at the time. The case, like so many more during Putin’s authoritarian rule, smacks of political vendetta at a time when Russia is losing its political footing due to a flailing military campaign in Syria, a wobbly economy and a highly inflammable standoff with Ankara over the shooting down of a war plane by Turkey.
Khodorkovsky, who backs the opposition against Putin, has been in self-imposed exile in Europe for two years now. He was released from prison in 2013 after ten years. His freedom came due to a presidential pardon following a clemency request to Putin. It then seemed that the oil tycoon’s troubles were over. But the unrelenting Kremlin goes after its enemies in a sustained way and so it did with Khodorkovsky. The oil magnate’s departure from Russia after his release signalled that he saw more trouble coming his way. Khodorkovsky was undaunted even after spending 10 years in the notorious Russian prison system and kept criticising the government’s policies.
Now Russia has issued an arrest warrant for him over an incident that took place 17 years ago. The arrest order followed a raid by armed police on the offices of Khodorkovsky’s Open Russia pro-democracy movement. It is likely that the hounding of Putin’s rival will intensify in the days to come. Khodorkovsky may seek political asylum in Britain to buttress his legal position as a Russian unwilling to go back to his country.
Several leading political prisoners remain behind bars in Russia, victims of a system reluctant to tolerate dissent. Putin has been lately focusing his energy on showing support for the likes of Donald Trump and Bashar Al Assad. While Trump has been hauled over the coals for his derogatory and delinquent comments against his presidential campaign rivals and women, Assad presides over a state ripped apart by civil war. Both individuals signify what is wrong with the system they exist in. So is true of Putin.
Blasting Russian authorities for the arrest warrant, Khodorkovsky has termed the raids on his office an act of intimidation. He called them the sign of an authoritarian regime that is close to its inevitable end. Khodorkovsky even quipped about the authorities: “They’ve gone mad. I realised that yesterday.”
In trying to drag an exiled tycoon back behind bars, the Russian dispensation seems to be focusing its energies on getting even with anyone that questions its authority. It is an attempt to distract Russians from the pains of their struggles and a bid to redeem Moscow’s overseas failures.
