Mikhail Khodorkovsky vows not to seek power in Russia
Mikhail Khodorkovsky passes by photographers as he arrives at the Wall Museum in Berlin on December 22, 2013©AFP
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, formerly Russia’s most famous prisoner, said on Sunday he would not return to Russia unless an outstanding legal case against him was resolved, and did not plan to get involved in politics.
Speaking to the Financial Times and a small group of international journalists at Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie Museum, yards from where the Berlin Wall once divided the city, Mr Khodorkovsky added that he would not fund Russian opposition parties.
“I understand better than our opposition how dangerous this would be for them,” he said in his first public appearance since his release.
Looking surprisingly fit and relaxed in a navy blue suit, white shirt and navy blue tie, Russia’s one-time richest man said he was not prepared to thank President Vladimir Putin for the pardon that led to his release on Friday.
“It is very difficult for me to say that I am grateful to him. I thought a long time about what I might say. I am glad about the decision, that’s the most accurate thing I can say,” said the former oligarch.
Mr Khodorkovsky was once said to be worth $15bn before he was arrested in 2003 on fraud and tax evasion charges, after he became too big a challenge to Mr Putin’s authority.
He was spirited out of Russia on Friday, barely 24 hours after Mr Putin revealed Mr Khodorkovsky had requested a pardon and that he was prepared to grant it.
The former tycoon was freed from a prison camp in Karelia, near the Finnish border, on Friday morning and flew to freedom in Berlin on a corporate jet provided by a German company. He was reunited with his family, including his parents and eldest son, Pavel, in Berlin on Saturday.
Responding to a question from the FT, Mr Khodorkovsky said he had not previously sought a pardon as he had always been told he would have to admit his guilt. “For me, this was totally unacceptable, for quite understandable reasons.”
He added that any admission of his guilt would have had implications for other imprisoned former executives of his Yukos oil company.
But the former oligarch said he had recently received a message from Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the former German foreign minister, who had lobbied Mr Putin for his release. Mr Genscher told him the Russian president might be prepared to pardon him and the “question of admission of guilt was not posed”.
“I received a proposal from Mr Genscher in which it was said, if this plan suits you, I suggest you write to the president,” Mr Khodorkovsky said. He added that family circumstances had also played a part in his decision, as his mother is ill.
Mr Khodorkovsky said he would not return to Russia for the time being, because he was still facing a $500m legal claim connected to his first conviction, which could be used to prevent him from leaving the country again. He said he would return only if and when the issue was resolved by Russia’s supreme court.
“Not to have the possibility to leave Russia is something I simply can’t accept,” he said.
He said he would not get involved in politics “in the sense of fighting for power”, but would be involved in “civic activities” and fighting for the release of “political prisoners”. Those included former Yukos colleagues, and opposition protesters arrested at a Moscow demonstration last year.
The former Yukos chief executive said he believed the need for Russia to improve its deteriorating international image had been a factor in Mr Putin’s decision to free him.
“It’s a symbol that Putin is seriously concerned about the image of Russia as a democratic state,” he said. “If you can’t advance an attractive image of your country, that really prevents you from resolving many significant questions in the international arena, even if you have lots of money. You can’t resolve everything through money.”
Mr Khodorkovsky said the most difficult thing in his 10 years in jail had been separation from his family.
“I had only four years in this time when I had the opportunity, once every three months, to have three days to see my family,” he said.
The former tycoon added that he did not plan to take legal action to try to recover Yukos assets. The company was seized after his conviction and sold off, largely to state-controlled Rosneft, to pay off billions of dollars of alleged tax arrears.
“Other shareholders are doing it, but I won’t participate, partly because I don’t want to spend time on this,” Mr Khodorkovsky said.
The former tycoon later appeared at a press conference in front of hundreds of waiting journalists and television cameras, before being driven away with family members.