Putin and the Oligarch

The Khodorkovsky-Yukos Affair

Richard Sakwa

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9780857734808
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Intelligence & Espionage
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the head of the Yukos oil company, on 25 October 2003, was a key turning point in modern Russian history. At that time Khodorkovsky was one of the world's richest and most powerful men, while Yukos had been transformed into a vast and lucrative oil company that was set to go global. On all counts, this looked like a success story, but it was precisely at this moment that the Russian authorities struck. After two controversial trials, attracting widespread international condemnation, Khodorkovsky was sentenced to fourteen years in jail. In this book, Richard Sakwa examines the rise and fall of Yukos, and the development of the Russian oil industry more generally. Sakwa analyses Russia's emergence as an energy superpower, and considers the question of the 'natural resource curse' and the use of energy rents to bolster Russia as a great power and to maintain the autonomy of the regime. Crucially this book also examines the relationship between Putin's state and big business during Russia's traumatic shift from the Soviet planned economy to the market system.It is a detailed analysis of one of the most dramatic confrontations between economic and political power in our era, full of human drama and moral dilemmas.
It is also a study of political economy, with the market and state coming into confrontation. Above all, the 'Yukos affair' continues to shape contemporary Russian politics, with a weakened judiciary and insecure property rights. It traces the struggles of the Putin era as two visions of society came into conflict. The attack on Khodorkovsky had - and continues to have - far-reaching political and economic consequences but it also raises fundamental questions about the quality of freedom in Putin's Russia as well as in the world at large.

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RICHARD SAKWA is Professor of Russian and European Politics, and Head of the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent. He is also an associate fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House and the author of Putin Redux: Power and Contradiction in Contemporary Russia; The Crisis of Russian Democracy; Putin: Russia’s Choice; Communism in Russia; Russian Politics and Society; The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union and Gorbachev and his Reforms.

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‘Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky is one of the most significant figures of contemporary Russian history, despite, or because of, his 10 years of incarceration. Whatever the origins of his wealth, he has established himself through his letters and writings from prison as a leading conservative and rival in this regard to Vladimir Putin: a patriot and propagandist for the free market, and for a constitutional state. For many Russians he and his wife Inna are true descendants of the aristocratic Decembrists who rose up for freedom in 1825. Only Richard Sakwa, with his unrivalled detailed knowledge of contemporary Russia, would be able to respond so quickly to Khodorkovsky’s unexpected early release from prison with such a comprehensive account of his life to date, combined with a penetrating analysis of the significance of this crucial personality.’

Bill Bowring, author of Law, Rights and Ideology in Russia: Landmarks in the Destiny of a Great Power

‘There is much that can be learned about Russia’s evolution in Khodorkovsky’s trajectory from Young Communist organiser to oil magnate, political prisoner to émigré. Sakwa’s superb study is not only the best account yet of Khodorkovsky’s rise, fall and metamorphosis, but also uses his tale to explore the contradictions of Russian capitalism and governance in a way that contributes ably to our understanding of the country.’

Mark Galeotti, Professor of Global Affairs, New York University

‘Richard Sakwa expertly retraces the accomplishments and trials of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, transporting the reader inside the boardroom, the courthouse, and the prison cell to elucidate how one man’s personal experience has come to symbolise an entire era in Russian history. Sakwa further explores Khodorkovsky’s political journey, juxtaposing his career with Vladimir Putin’s and analysing Khodorkovsky’s prison writings to reveal his complicated relationship to power and his evolving views on law, liberalism, and civil society. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand where Russia has been, and where it is going, Sakwa reveals the central contradictions of modern-day Russia and how the need to reform invariably collides with the absolute prerogatives of the Russian state.’

William E. Pomeranz, Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies, Woodrow Wilson Center

‘Richard Sakwa has provided a lively, balanced, and insightful account of the rise, fall, and regeneration of one of Russia’s richest men and his confrontation with the country’s leader. The book offers revealing accounts of the two trials and their impact at home and abroad, and of the writings of Mr Khodorkovsky in prison, who emerges in this account as a thoughtful critic of Russian reality.’

Peter H. Solomon, Jr., University of Toronto

Published in 2014 by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
www.ibtauris.com

Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010

Copyright © 2014 Richard Sakwa

The right of Richard Sakwa to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.

References to websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978 1 78076 459 7
eISBN: 978 0 85773 480 8

A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available

eBook by Tetragon, London

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To the victims of the Yukos affair

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Contents

• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Note on Transliteration and Translation
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 – Rise of the Citizen Oligarch
• Chapter 2 – The State and the Oligarchs
• Chapter 3 – Why Khodorkovsky?
• Chapter 4 – The State Strikes Back
• Chapter 5 – Basmanny Justice
• Chapter 6 – Collateral Damage
• Chapter 7 – The Trial of the Century
• Chapter 8 – Russia on Trial
• Chapter 9 – From Oligarch to Dissident
• Chapter 10 – Russia Is Worthy of Freedom
• Chapter 11 – Return, Resistance and Reform
• Chapter 12 – Conclusion
• List of Acronyms
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Plates

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‌List of Illustrations

‌1 Mikhail Khodorkovsky as CEO of the Yukos oil company.
© http://www.khodorkovsky.ru/

‌2 Mikhail Khodorkovsky before the trial.
© http://www.khodorkovsky.ru/

‌3 Russian President Vladimir Putin talks with Khodorkovsky.
© http://www.khodorkovsky.ru/

‌4 Khodorkovsky in a meeting with President Putin.
© http://www.khodorkovsky.ru/

‌5 Khodorkovsky behind bars during the Meshchansky trial.
© http://www.khodorkovsky.ru/

‌6 Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev during the Khamovnichesky trial.
© http://www.khodorkovsky.ru/

‌7 Vasily Aleksanyan, former vice president of Yukos.
© Getty Images

‌8 Svetlana Bakhmina, who served as deputy head of the Yukos legal department.
© RIA Novosti

‌9 The pre-trial detention centre...

Table of contents

• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Note on Transliteration and Translation
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 • Rise of the Citizen Oligarch
• Chapter 2 • The State and the Oligarchs
• Chapter 3 • Why Khodorkovsky?
• Chapter 4 • The State Strikes Back
• Chapter 5 • Basmanny Justice
• Chapter 6 • Collateral Damage
• Chapter 7 • The Trial of the Century
• Chapter 8 • Russia on Trial
• Chapter 9 • From Oligarch to Dissident
• Chapter 10 • Russia Is Worthy of Freedom
• Chapter 11 • Return, Resistance and Reform
• Chapter 12 • Conclusion
• List of Acronyms
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Plates