Hold up...

Didn’t the Soviet Union

Collapse Already?

The Khodor kovsky

St or yFrom Oligarch to Martyr

By Shannon Bona

I apologize in advance for any mispronunciations of Russian

words or names.

“I am far from being an ideal person, but I am a person with

an idea. For me, as for anybody, it is hard to live in

prison, and I do not want to die here…”

-Mikhail Khodorkovsky

“We lived our lives in the Soviet Period, and we warned him that you cannot trust power in our country.”

-Khodorkovsky‟s Mother

• Born June 26, 1963 in Moscow

• Graduated from the Mendeleev Moscow Institute of Chemistry and Technology in 1986 - Chemical Engineering

.Less Exposed than others to Soviet Indoctrination

Deput y Head of Komsomol (The Communi st Yout h League)

1987 – Founded t he Yout h Cent er f or Sci ent i f i c and Techni cal Devel opment

1989 – Founded Bank MENATEP

1997 – Gr oup MENATEP deci ded t o acqui r e t he maj or i t y i nt er est i nYukos

Made possible by…

Yeltsin’s Economic Reforms:

State assets Private Hands

“Loans-for-Shares”

“Rigged” Auctions

Khodorkovksy and associates were sole bidders

78% of YUKOS acquired for only $309 million

Petroleum Based Company

- First “smart” office building in Russia

- Self-Sufficient – latest technology

- Russian Capitalism at its finest

By 2002 YUKOS was worth 15 billion

“A Thief should sit in jail”-Putin

Put i n has br ought cr i mi nal char ges upon Khodor kovsky twice…

1) Accused of t ax evasi on and f r aud char ges

2) Bet ween 1998 – 2003 Khodor kovsky and hi s busi ness par t ner Lebedev wer e suspect ed of st eal i ng “ever y dr op of Yukos oi l ”

Ther e i s even r umor of murder….

VS

•The char ges Khodor kovsky f ace do not f ocus at al l on t he “l oans-f or-shar e” pr ogr am

•Al most al l Russi an cr i mi nal t r i al s end wi t h a gui l t y ver di ct

• Funding of opposing political parties

• A plan to build a private oil pipeline to China

• Merger of YUKOS and Sibneft

• Transformation of YUKOS into a westernized company

• Widespread distaste of Oligarchs among Russians

• Possession of Russia’s natural resources

• Political ambitions

• Potential Sale to Exxon Mobil and

ChevronTexaco

On Oct . 25, 2003 Khodor vosky was arrested atgunpoint, marking the beginning of a extensive, tumultuous “legal” process…

“Our Court is the most humane court in the World”-Putin

“Despite the obvious lack of evidence for my guilt, and numerous witnesses having testified that I was not involved in committing any crime, this court decided to send me to prison, and I am aware that my verdict

was decided in the Kremlin” -Khodorkovsky

• May 16, 2005 – Sent enced t o 9 year s i n pr i son Lat er r educed t o 8 year s

• June 30, 2008 - new char ges br i ng f or t h a second t r i al

• August 22, 2008 – Par ol e i s deni ed

• Mar ch 31, 2009 - Second t r i al began

• December 2010 – Sent enced t o 14 year s i n pr i son

• May 2011 – Russi an appeal s cour t uphel d convi ct i on but sent ence i s r educed t o 13 year s

• August 19, 2005 - Hunger St r i ke t o pr ot est t he pl acement of Lebedev i n t he “puni shment cel l ”

• August 31, 2005 - Announcement of hi s desi r e t o r un f or par l i ament

• Januar y 28, 2008 – Hunger St r i ke t o pr ot est unf ai r t r eat ment of hi s associ at e Vasi l y Al eksanyan

• Thr oughout hi s sent ence he publ i shed numer ous wor ks cr i t i ci zi ng t he Russi an Gover nment and i l l ust r at i ng hi s exper i ences.

•Eur opean Cour t of Human Ri ght s

•U.S. House of Repr esent at i ves

•El i e Wi esel – Hol ocaust Sur vi vor

•I t al i an Par l i ament

•Ger man Budnest ag

• 2001 – Founds t he Open Russi a Foundat i on

• Funds l i ber al opposi t i on gr oups and i ndependent medi a or gani zat i ons

• Khodor kovsky l i ved no l avi sh l i f est yl e, even despi t e hi s 8 bi l l i on dol l ar net wor t h.

“The last years before the arrest, I was actively engaged in civic activity focused at fighting for

civil liberties: I funded the opposition, supported the independent mass media, and

helped in the work of teaching youth how to be politically informed.”

-Khodorkovsky

“Putin cares about foreign investors; he just doesn‟t care about them enough to allow one oligarch to use his ill-gotten gains to hijack the

state for his own economic purposes”-William Bower

Veteran Money Manager in Moscow

“The main task for my country is to not miss the historic „window of opportunity‟ for an

orderly liberalization, the provision of political freedoms to the people and the

creation of the institutions of a democratic state and a civil society.”

-Khodorkovsky

“Jail changed the means, but not the goal. The situation is such that my line of behavior in prison no longer carriers potential threats for my friends, family and colleagues. For myself I am not afraid. And life without a

goal – is not life at all.”

-Khodorkovsky

• As of June 10, 2011, Khodor kovsky has been sent t o an “undi scl osed” pr i son

• Whi l e not f i ndi ng enough pr oof t o i dent i f y hi s case as pol i t i cal mot i vat ed, The Eur opean Cour t of Human Ri ght s or der ed Moscow t o pay $35,300 i n r epar at i ons t o Khodor kovksy.

• The t hought of new char ges have not been di smi ssed.

For further reading check out Khodorkovsky Unabridged…posted in The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303714704576385240381210756.html?KEYWORD

“…But if I Have to, I will have no hesitation. What I believe is

worth dying for. I think I have shown this.

-Mikhail Khodorkovksy

"BBC News - Mi khai l Khodor kovsky Case: Eur opean Cour t Faul t s Russi a." BBC - Homepage. Web. 22 June 2011. <ht t p://www.bbc.co.uk/news/wor l d-eur ope-13600198>.

"BBC News - Mi khai l Khodor kovsky 'sent t o Secr et Pr i son'" BBC - Homepage. Web. 22 June 2011. <ht t p://www.bbc.co.uk/news/wor l d-eur ope-13735507>.

"Busi ness i n Russi a: Af t er Yukos | The Economi st ." The Economi st - Wor l d News, Pol i t i cs, Economi cs, Busi ness & Fi nance. Web. 22 June 2011. <ht t p://www.economi st .com/node/9167397>.

Jol i s, By Anne. "Anne Jol i s: Khodor kovsky Heads Back t o Si ber i a - WSJ.com." Busi ness News & Fi nanci al News - The Wal l St r eet Jour nal -Wsj .com. Web. 22 June 2011. <ht t p://onl i ne.wsj .com/ar t i cl e/SB10001424052702303714704576385552112075440.ht ml >.

"The Khodor kovsky Case: The Tycoon and t he Pr esi dent | The Economi st ." The Economi st - Wor l d News, Pol i t i cs, Economi cs, Busi ness & Fi nance. Web. 22 June 2011. <ht t p://www.economi st .com/node/3983898>.

"Khodor kovsky Unabr i dged." Wal l St r eet Jour nal . 14 June 2011. Web. 22 June 2011. <ht t p://onl i ne.wsj .com/ar t i cl e/SB10001424052702303714704576385240381210756.ht ml >.

"Mi khai l Khodor kovsky's Tr i al : Just i ce Del ayed | The Economi st ." The Economi st - Wor l d News, Pol i t i cs, Economi cs, Busi ness & Fi nance. Web. 22 June 2011. <ht t p://www.economi st .com/bl ogs/east er nappr oaches/2010/12/mi khai l _khodor kovskys_t r i al >.

"Moscow Cour t Uphol ds Khodor kovsky Convi ct i on -WSJ.com." Busi ness News & Fi nanci al News - The Wal l St r eet Jour nal - Wsj .com. Web. 22 June 2011. <ht t p://onl i ne.wsj .com/ar t i cl e/SB10001424052702303654804576343100298677870.ht ml >.

Nocer a, Joe. "Russi an Just i ce." The New Yor k Ti mes. The New Yor k Ti mes, 23 May 2011. Web. 17 June 2011.

O'Br i en, Ti mot hy L., and St even Lee Myer s. "The Russi a Hous, Af t er t he Ol i gar chs." The New Yor k Ti mes. The New Yor k Ti mes, 12 June 2005. Web. 17 June 2011.