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 Down By Law
The arrest of Russia's richest man sends markets tumbling and stokes fears that President Putin is moving toward authoritarianism |
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A Small Win for Free Speech
A law designed to muzzle Russia's press has some of its teeth pulled |
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What's the Charge?
Is the case against Mikhail Khodorkovsky based on crime or politics? |
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The Players
Who's who in this Russian family feud. |
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The Portfolio
What difference does Yukos make to Russia? |
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Posted Sunday, November 2, 2003; 13.45GMT
With parliamentary elections scheduled for December and a presidential vote set for next March, President Putin may have wanted to make a public display of his crackdown on the oligarchs, who are still regarded suspiciously by most voters.
Khodorkovsky was a prime target because of his vocal support and financial backing for both of the country's rival liberal parties — Yabloko, led by Grigory Yavlinsky, and the Union of Right Forces, led by Boris Nemtsov — which have been unable to present a united front against the Kremlin.
"I support Yabloko and the Union of Right Forces because I share their liberal values," Khodorkovsky said. He also bought the prestigious Moskovskiye Novosti weekly, an icon of press freedom since the early days of perestroika during the Gorbachev era, endorsed the twice-weekly Novaya Gazeta, one of the few remaining independent voices in Russia's print media, and ran the sharp and informative web newspaper, gazeta.ru.
With elections looming, the Kremlin may have found Khodorkovsky's support for the liberal opposition and the free press a little too much of a good thing.
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