It's amazing to me to see the New York Times and everyone else wring hands over the fate of Russian billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

He was one of many known to have ripped off the Russian people during the privatization process a decade ago.

No question that justice is perverted in his case now -- but it's never been different in Russia, and Khodorkovsky is clearly a crook.

Whether Mr. Khodorkovsky is guilty of the fraud and forgery alleged by prosecutors is much debated here and abroad, particularly given the murky nature of most big business in Russia. The real question, however, is whether he has any chance of due process or, should it ever come to it, a fair and open trial.

Excuse me? The real question isn't whether he wiped away the fortunes of thousands of Russians to become the country's wealthiest tycoon? The question isn't whether Putin is finally cracking down on the massive systemic abuse and monopolization of most of Russia's main industries??

Even our most mainstream media's memories are whithering away....

No doubt in my mind that Mr. Khodorkovsky acted illegally during the Yeltsin-era privatization.

However, the way FSB and the President went about his arrest is rather suspicious.

It happened on a Saturday. Offically, Khodorkovsky was called as a witness in a case. He failed to show up due to his business trip to Siberia about which the Internal Affairs knew well in advance. They knew about it and he was thought to have been excused, however, the FSB still made him to show up.

It didn't even look like Khodorkovsky would follow the examples of much "worse" tychoons in the likes of Berezovky and Gusinsky, who hid in the West. He was within the borders. He wasn't running away. Once the Internal Affairs got him as a witness, they accused him in a crime that, perhaps, he committed indeed.

The question of justice, as you rightly pointed out, is extremely perverted right now.

One of my friends, who is a Russian journalism proffesor, said they will probably hold him until the Duma and Presidential elections (the former is in December, 2003; the latter is in March 2004) and then let him go.

He already resigned as the CEO of Yukos and obviously he wishes to provide some plausible alternative to Mr. Putin's candidacy in the upcoming elections.

Respectfully,

Aleks

Thanks for your comment.

Business Week ran a piece on the topic this week, and said:

Khodorkovsky is being punished because he broke the pact that Putin struck with the oligarchs in 2000 soon after he came to power: If the oligarchs steered clear of politics, Putin would allow them to keep the lucrative assets they amassed during the chaotic rule of Boris Yeltsin...
...before the prosecution of Yukos even started, the government had trouble getting its laws through parliament -- particularly laws that would have raised taxes for oil companies. "It was Khodorkovsky blocking tax proposals in the Duma relating to the oil business that was the final straw," says Christopher Granville, chief strategist at United Financial Group, a Russian investment bank. That, in turn, reflects a more fundamental problem: the excessive wealth and influence of the oligarchs. "This isn't some paranoid KGB fantasy," he says.

The New York Times reported on it this morning, saying saying:

How Russian Oil Tycoon Courted Friends in U.S.;

But Mr. Khodorkovsky's steady efforts to win access to other influential Americans have paid off. Last July, he met with Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to discuss America's oil policy. Former President George H. W. Bush traveled to Russia in September and spoke at a dinner attended by Mr. Khodorkovsky.