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Two years ago this week, Russian law enforcement authorities, guns drawn, stormed Mikhail Khodorkovsky's plane. His arrest and imprisonment, and the insufficient response of the democratic world to his case, represent a great setback for the march of democracy in Russia.
This is setback for "democracy" -- but only if "democracy" is the system, in which one, who stole a car go to prison, but one, who stole an multi-billion oil company go to parliament.
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The charges against Khodorkovsky ostensibly focus on financial improprieties related to his control of the Russian oil giant Yukos. But one need not be an expert in that company's finances to recognize that the law was used selectively against Khodorkovsky to thwart the political ambitions of a possible future opponent of President Vladimir Putin.
Probably I'll agree. It's a pity Khodor's in the jail alone. There's a lot of guys to make him good company. ;)
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The Soviet Union was a place where millions worked for the KGB, tens of millions were killed and hundreds of millions lived in constant fear.
Yuck. This "tens of millions were killed" BS was already discussed in a different threads. The "millions worked for the KGB" is even more laughing matter.
In 5th KGB directorate (the one which confronted "dissidents" and other idiots), in its glory days worked only 500 men (or the like).
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The situation today is a far cry from that, not only because Putin is no Leonid Brezhnev, and certainly no Stalin, but, more important, because the virus of freedom has spread among Russians for well over a decade.
"The virus of freedom"?? Hmm, nice metaphor. How about an antidote? ;)
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The Khodorkovsky case presents a real opportunity for those concerned about the state of democracy in Russia to take a stand. By pressuring the Russian authorities to end this travesty of justice, the free world would be strengthening democracy within Russia and thereby strengthening an alliance between Russia and the democratic world that is critically important to our common future.
The only problem is what "free world" is little short of ways to blackmail Russia, isn't it? :)