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Moscow Times
May 16, 2005
Editorial
A Day of Reckoning Will Come

When Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested, most of us did not know much about him as a person. He did not stand out in our minds in any significant way from the other oligarchs who had carved a ruthless path to wealth. In 2003, he was only beginning to develop a public face.

During the nearly yearlong trial, we have come to know him a bit better. Calm and well spoken, he has stood on principle. He has not shown weakness or anger, often smiling from behind the bars of the defendants' cage. He has shown genuine love for his parents and for his wife.

Speaking in his own defense, he has put to shame the prosecutors, who have bored the court day after day by reading reams of documents that rarely seemed relevant.

He has spoken eloquently about his hopes and fears for Russia and promised to work for the good of his country. His motivation may be questioned but not his ideas.

Khodorkovsky has proved to be different from other oligarchs. He is "not a proper kind of oligarch," as he said in his final address to the court last month, explaining that he owns no "yachts, palaces, racing cars or football clubs." Instead, he has used some of his money to fund civil society and education in Russia. Most of all, instead of keeping his head down and making a deal with the Kremlin that would allow him to enjoy his wealth in Russia or abroad, he has taken a stand.

During the past year, while a jailed Khodorkovsky has been winning some understanding and respect, the Kremlin has been steadily losing ground.

Economic growth has slowed at a time of high oil prices, investment has plummeted and capital flight has multiplied as investors have grown increasingly wary. The government has made one misstep after another and cannot seem to get its message straight. Public discontent is rising.

The legal charade being used to destroy Yukos and the contentious fight over the spoils have revealed that those behind the attack on the oil company have been motivated by greed and revenge, not the interests of the state.

Russia needs smart leaders who show they care about the country's future. But unfortunately some of the wisest words in the past year have come from the defendants' cage at the Meshchansky District Court.

The irony of the Khodorkovsky trial is that by trying to subdue a powerful rival, the Kremlin, through its own clumsiness, has helped create a political figure.

A day of reckoning will come for Khodorkovsky on Monday, but the day of reckoning for the Kremlin is still ahead.