Yukos Affair
The imprisonment of Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his second trial reflect the strong-arm tendencies of Russian politics. What are the chances of a democratic reversal? How will the Khodorkovsky case develop, and what impact will it have on the country’s political life?
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Translations
- Русский
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Medvedev's Promises on Trial
Although President Medvedev claims to support the rule of law, if he continues to stay out of the Khodorkovsky affair he will bear responsibility for Russia's continued plunge into lawlessness.
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Mercy That Eludes Medvedev
Nearly 86,000 people have signed a letter asking President Medvedev to pardon Svetlana Bakhmina, a former lawyer for Yukos. Bakhmina, who is due to give birth within weeks, is in a prison camp. Yet Medvedev continues to ignore the call for mercy from thousands of Bakhmina's supporters and thus stands personally responsible for her suffering.
Experts
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Lilia Shevtsova
Shevtsova was deputy director of the Moscow Institute of International Economic and Political Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and director of the Center of Political Studies in Moscow. -
Dmitri Trenin
Trenin has been with the Carnegie Moscow Center since its inception. He was previously a senior research fellow at the NATO Defense College in Rome and the Institute of Europe in Moscow. He served in the Soviet and Russian armed forces from 1972 to 1993.