Khodorkovsky ‘grateful’ for life in jail
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed oligarch and a key shareholder of Yukos, the oil group, said the destruction of his company was “the most senseless and damaging” act committed by the Kremlin since Vladimir Putin became president. Mr Khodorkovsky, once considered to be Russia's richest man with a fortune of $15bn, has been in prison for 15 months since being arrested on charges of fraud and tax evasion.
His comments follow the transfer of the main production asset of Yukos into the hands of the state-owned Rosneft oil company part of the Kremlin-led attack on his business.
He said the fate of his company demonstrated that bureaucrats would stop at nothing for the sake of redistributing private property.
Mr Khodorkovsky said he had come to terms with the idea of spending several years in prison and knew there was little chance of saving Yukos.
“Many people might think this odd, but parting with my property will not be unbearably painful for me.
“Like many, many prisoners before me, both well known and unknown, I should say thank you to prison. It has given me months of intense contemplation, a time to re-examine the many sides of life.
“I have realised that wealth on its own, especially vast wealth, in no way makes a person free.”
Mr Khodorkovsky, whose fall from grace has been one of the most defining moments in Russia's recent history, delivered his contemplative and philosophical comments about the state of Russia to Vedomosti, the FT's Russian sister paper.
Mr Khodorkovsky who acquired Russian oil assets when they were privatised in the early 1990s, said he had no intention of taking revenge or becoming “the Count of Monte Cristo” as some of his persecutors fear.
“These small-minded people judge everyone by their own rules. To breath spring air, to play with children, to read clever books all this is better and more pleasant than redistributing property or settling scores with your own past,” Mr Khodorkovsky said.Putin adviser calls sale ‘scam', Page 3
尤科斯前总裁: ‘感谢’狱中生活
俄罗斯身陷囹圄的首富寡头米哈伊尔?霍多尔科夫斯基(Mikhail Khodorkovsky)昨日表示，他已接受了在狱中度过几年时间的想法，同时也明白拯救尤科斯的机会渺茫。霍多尔科夫斯基曾是尤科斯的大股东。
霍多尔科夫斯基表示， “许多人也许会觉得这件事很奇怪，但对我来说，丧失财产之痛并非难以忍受 …… 像我之前许许多多著名及无名的囚犯一样，我应该向监狱道谢，因为它给了我几个月的时间进行深思，让我重新审视人生的许多方面。”
霍多尔科夫斯基一度被视为俄罗斯的首富，身家达150亿美元。自从被指控欺诈和逃税罪名以来，他已在监狱中关押了15个月。
霍多尔科夫斯基以深思熟虑和富有哲理的语言，在《金融时报》的俄罗斯姐妹报《俄罗斯商业日报》撰文： “我已意识到：财富本身，尤其是巨大的财富，绝不会让一个人得到自由。”
“我要警告今天的年轻人，那些将会拥有权力的人。不要嫉妒富人 …… 财富可以开辟新路，但也会奴役你的创造力并消磨你的个性。”
在20世纪90年代初俄罗斯对石油资产进行私有化之际，霍多尔科夫斯基收购了这些资产。他表示，没有打算复仇或成为“基督山伯爵”的想法，而这正是一些迫害他的人所担心的。但他表示，搞跨尤科斯(Yukos)是自弗拉基米尔?普京(Vladimir Putin)成为总统以来，俄国政府所采取的“最荒谬和最具破坏性”的行动。
在他发表上述言论前，尤科斯的主要生产资产已被转移到了国有的俄罗斯国家石油公司(Rosneft)，这是俄国政府领导的、对他的企业进行攻击的一部分。
霍多尔科夫斯基表示，尤科斯的命运表明，为了重新分配私人财产，政府官僚什么都做得出。
霍多尔科夫斯基说，“这些心胸狭窄的人以自己的标准来判断每一个人。呼吸春天的空气、和孩子们玩耍、阅读充满智慧的书籍――所有这些都比再分配财产或试图摆平自己的往事更好和更令人愉快。”
