Repeating what the Kremlin did to 52-year-old former Russian Yukos oil giant CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky in 2003 when the Kremlin arrested him for fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, Before the Kremlin put Khodorkovsky away for 10 years in a Siberian prison, he was once Russia’s richest man, controlling Russia’s largest oil company. Once considered a political rival to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Khodorkovsky was stripped of his oil company and left at the mercy Putin who stunned Russia Dec. 23, 2013 pardoning Khodorkovsky, releasing him from his Jail cell, immigrating to Switzerland. Once a billionaire many times over, Khodorkovsky is still worth about $500 million. After violating terms of his pardon to stay out of politics, Kremlin’s investigative body declared the former Yukos CEO arrested in absentia for the murder of a Siberian mayor.
Nearly two years to the date of Khodorkovsky’s pardon, he’s now facing serious criminal charges that could put him away for life, unless he’s granted political asylum. “Definitely, I’m considering asking or asylum in the U.K.,” Khodorkovsky told the BBC. U.K. officials don’t like getting in the middle of international crises, especially criminal prosecutions. It wasn’t that long ago when former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned at a London café with Polonium-210, a lethal radioactive isotope only available to Russia’s KGB. Granting Khodorkovsky asylum would open the door to more political assassination by Russia Federal Security Bureau, its successor to the KGB. Khodorkovsky hopes to prevail in U.K, despite risks of harboring international fugitives. Insisting that Kremlin “ghouls” trumped up charges because of his pro-Democracy activities, Khodorkovsky is back under the gun.
Instead of taking his millions and living out a quiet life, Khodorkovsky continued his vendetta with Putin, the wrong person to get on his bad side. “I’m considered by President Putin as a threat, economically, because of the possible seizure of Russian assets abroad, and politically , as some who will potentially help Democratic candidates in the coming 2016 elections,” Khodorkovsky told the BBC. Confirming the charges against Khodorkovsky, Kremlin Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said the Kremlin has issued an international arrest warrant. International arrest warrants by the U.S. against U.S. fugitive National Security Agency “whistleblower” Eric Snowden did little in Moscow to extradite the poster-boy of government surveillance. Khodorkovsky now has to look over his shoulder or under his pillow as the Kremlin promises to close in.
Calling the Kremlin “gone mad,” Khodorkosky brought the recent persecution on himself for violating his 2013 pardon agreement to stay out of Russian politics. Despite sitting 10 years in a Siberian prison, Khodorkovsky hasn’t gotten over Putin confiscating his Yukos oil company and destroying his political future. Continuing the vendetta against Putin, Khodorkovsky beats a dead horse, especially about reinstating his political ambitions. “Mikail Borisovich will by no means limit his movements because of the hysterical actions of the Kremlin ghouls,” said Khodorkovsky spokesman Kulie Pispanen, dismissing the Kremlin’s arrest warrant. Calling the Kremlin’s actions “another bout of fraudulent activities,” Pispanen told a Moscow radio station, further antagonizing the Kremlin, making Khodorkovsky’s plight in exile all the more complicated.
Once charged by Kremlin with the murder of a Siberian mayor and two other unnamed persons, Khodorkovsky revealed his state-of-mind to a London radio station saying that revolution in Russia was inevitable. Given the Kremlin’s tight control over all aspects of Russian society, Khodorkovsky’s either a dreamer or psychotic. Calling on Russian exiles to use hi Open Russia platform to elect officials to the Russian Duma [parliament], Khodorkovsky stuck his nose where it doesn’t belong. Whether Russia’s FSB, successor to the KGB, tracks Khodorkovsky down is anyone’s guess. What’s become clear is any country giving the former Yukos oligarch asylum will face the Russian Secret Service, one way or another. Khodokovsky had his chance at anonymity but chose to continue his vendetta with Putin. His public remarks sound like he’s gone over the deep end.
Trying to reestablish himself in the West, Putin’s attempt to harass and re-litigate Khodorkovsky’s case only raises more red flags about the brutality of Russia’s totalitarianism under Putin. “In revenge for the arrest of Russian property in France, the Investigative Committee arrested Kulie Psipanen’s Macbook and iPhone, a letter to father Christmas and a portrait of Khodorkovsky,” Open Russian employee Maria Baronova posted on Facebook. Insisting they’ll pursue Khodorkovsky to the end of the earth. Vladimir Markin promised that no stone will be left unturned to get Khodorkovsky wherever he’s hiding. “No matter where the person accused of grave crimes in hiding in Russia, abroad, or even in the Antarctic,” said Markin, giving the former Yukos head no reason to rest. When pardoned by Putin Dec. 23, 2013, Khodorkovsky had a choice to live out his life or continue to make waves.
