16.5.05
Russia - (in)justice
A friend of mine, a person I really love, reminded me of the Khodorkovsky trial, to be resumed on Monday.
I searched for articles and infos and - wow - it's incredible!
It really looks like a movie, something in between a 007 and a noir: we have the 41-years-old-self-made-man-Russian-oil-baron who built a fortune out of nothing during the post-communist era against the former(?) KGB agent actual president of Russia.
Khodorkovsky is the n°1 at Menatep, was the boss at Yukos, one of the main oil companies in the world (Texaco and Exxon Mobil have interests in it), he is one of the richest men in the world. During Yeltsin government he was building his economic empire and Mr. Putin was building his political power; they almost grew up together.
The oil baron decided to contribute to the development of democracy and funded some political parties, also opposition parties: so he had money, power, and was infiltrating the empire of his main rival.
Putin is a KGB person... he knows how to deal with problems. So the not-so-innocent oil baron was charged by Russian prosecutors for tax evasion - Yes! as Al Capone! and probably he made a number of deals with the Russian mapphia - and money laundery. So now he is in jail.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spent few good words for him - before leaving Yukos, Khodorkovsky designed an American navigated man to guide the society - threatening a bit the Russian geovernment.
Who will win? I don't envy the judge who will have to make a decision for which there won't be winners nor loosers....
I searched for articles and infos and - wow - it's incredible!
It really looks like a movie, something in between a 007 and a noir: we have the 41-years-old-self-made-man-Russian-oil-baron who built a fortune out of nothing during the post-communist era against the former(?) KGB agent actual president of Russia.
Khodorkovsky is the n°1 at Menatep, was the boss at Yukos, one of the main oil companies in the world (Texaco and Exxon Mobil have interests in it), he is one of the richest men in the world. During Yeltsin government he was building his economic empire and Mr. Putin was building his political power; they almost grew up together.
The oil baron decided to contribute to the development of democracy and funded some political parties, also opposition parties: so he had money, power, and was infiltrating the empire of his main rival.
Putin is a KGB person... he knows how to deal with problems. So the not-so-innocent oil baron was charged by Russian prosecutors for tax evasion - Yes! as Al Capone! and probably he made a number of deals with the Russian mapphia - and money laundery. So now he is in jail.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spent few good words for him - before leaving Yukos, Khodorkovsky designed an American navigated man to guide the society - threatening a bit the Russian geovernment.
Who will win? I don't envy the judge who will have to make a decision for which there won't be winners nor loosers....
- Articles by Chris Stephen from Moscow
- 28 Apr 2005 - Putin blamed as Russian tycoon's verdict delayed The Scotsman
- 26 Apr 2005 - Russian president laments death of the USSR the Scotsman
- 21 Apr 2005 - Rice takes swipe at 'autocratic' Russians The Scotsman
- 14 June 2004 - Russia's titans take battle for power to Moscow court The Scotsman
- 29 Nov 2003 Tycoon's arrest a boon to ordinary RussiansThe Scotsman
- 6 Aug 2003 Why I'll never quit Russia Evening Standard
- 2 July 2003 - Loose change to Russian tycoon Evening Standard
# posted by Valentina Cosimati @ 4:31 PM 
