Book on Khodorkovsky's thoughts released in Moscow
MOSCOW, January 20 (RIA Novosti) - One of Russia's leading publishing houses, Eksmo, released a book of jailed former oil oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's thoughts on Thursday, comprising articles and interviews over the past seven years of his imprisonment.
The book, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Articles. Dialogues. Interviews. includes his own articles for Russia's celebrated Vedomosti daily, Vlast (Power) weekly magazine as well as his interviews to the Financial Times, Russia's opposition magazine, The New Times and Profil (Profile) magazine.
The book's foreword was written by one of Russia's most acclaimed journalists, Leonid Parfyonov, who set the country's media abuzz in late November when he publicly blasted state-run TV channels for their servile attitude and penchant for Kremlin propaganda.
"For those who call themselves the political class, Khodorkovsky's case has divided Russia's 2000s to 'before' and 'after'... During Putin's second reign (in 2005), the former head of Yukos received his first jail term, during Medvedev's first reign he received a second term. Thus, Khodorkovsky's release, whenever it happens, will mark the change of epochs," Parfyonov said.
The journalist also said that no one in Russia had paid such a heavy price for his views as Khodorkovsky. "And what is more, he overpaid, getting 12 days in isolation for his 12-page dialogue with Boris Akunin (a celebrated Russian writer)."
On New Year's Eve, Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, were sentenced to 14 years in jail after being found guilty of stealing millions of tons of oil from their former company Yukos in a trial broadly viewed as political revenge from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whom Khodorkovsky challenged by funding the liberal opposition in the early 2000s.
The two businessmen had been nearing the end of their eight-year sentences for fraud and tax evasion from the 2005 trial and will remain behind bars for another six years.
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