related news
Mikhail KhodorkovskyThe 58-year-old Russian ex-oligarch now living in exile in London insists “attacking Ukraine was a huge mistake” and that there will be consequences: ” Vladimir Putin near. “
Khodorkovsky is one of them delicious Russian businessmans has been criticized Russian military intervention in neighboring countries.which can be cited Oleg Tinkovfounder of the bank of the same name, Mikhail FriedmanFounder of Alpha Bank, owner of Dia supermarket, and owner of a powerful aluminum company (Rusal), Oleg Deripaska, regrets the Kremlin’s military action.Khodorkovsky was part of the first generation of oligarchs, in Boris Yeltsin. Former owner of Youkos Oil Company, who was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2003 for fraud.
The tycoon used history to justify Putin’s end: “After every lost war, the Russian leader has had great difficulties. Behind… Crimean War (1853-56), Tsar Nicholas I Important concessions had to be made.After the Russo-Japanese War, the 1905 Revolution finally led to the downfall of Japan Tsar Nicholas II 1917. We are in a similar situation today. Russia Is an dictatorship If the dictator fails to convince people of his victory in the Ukraine war, he will lose power within two years. “
The statements are part of a long-term interview with the Swiss newspaper geneva tribuneand.It was signed by two experts from Eastern Europe: Bernhard Odehnal, former correspondent Tiger Anzerg in Eastern Europe and Zita offenderhistorian and former correspondent Moscow.
Khodorkovsky called on Russians to “destroy their workplaces” and demonstrate against the war: “Every protester arrested in Russia will stop a soldier or they will be killed in Ukraine.”
“War Hysteria”
Dissidents admit that Putin’s popularity increased because of ” Warrior Hysteria” But he believes that “consensus on war may collapse”. And because of the sanctions he favors, this can be accelerated.
Khodorkovsky calls it key “Average bureaucracy”, 1 million people “accustomed to the good life, driving Western cars, holidaying in Turkey”. “This middle-class bureaucracy can’t kill the president, but it can make the job of the state apparatus difficult.”
Khodorkovsky’s family originated in Ukraine, although his parents were born in Moscow. He spent his summers at his great-grandmother’s house in Kharkiv: “For me, there has never been a conflict between my ancestral homeland and my homeland, Russia.”
Dissidents now believe that Putin “has become out of touch with reality” because of his isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic.But, “he’s not suicidal. That’s why I doubt it would use nuclear weapons against a nuclear power like the US NATO“.