Since mid-December last year, when the verdict in the second trial against the former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky it was expected that the German media on offer in their praise of the former defendants and now term offender. He is regarded as an innocent victim of sinister intrigue and political justice, even though hardly any of the commentators on the subject has trouble reading the verdict. Peculiar, however, are the attempts to stylize Khodorkovsky a political opposition, even a "dissident" or "political reformer." For the latter are not even to the German Greens too bad. The predominant in this country, extremely one-sided and therefore false image of the former oligarchs should be corrected the following - in particular through the presentation of facts from the Life of the man, who misappropriated his eulogists regularly. Early in his career
Ch Mikhail was a hopeful line and loyal young Communist. He was in the youth organization Komsomol career and rose to the full-time official. In this capacity he had access to considerable financial resources, as Gorbachev's reform policies played in the late 1980s, attempts to establish market structures play an important role. And the Komsomol should play in this development, the pioneer. As a Komsomol and Soviet Union broke up, looked at his Khodorkovsky, the administration entrusted property as ownerless and recognized it. This was the seed money for his other "entrepreneurial" activities.
Subsequently he acted with computers and other things and later joined the banking business. His Menatep Bank reached quite some size. In 1998 a financial crisis broke in upon Russia. He used the opportunity to close the bank for a short time, after the re-opening, saw hundreds of thousands of cheated investors from their money. (In this respect, the comparison with the American fraudsters Bernard Madoff apposite.) Once again, Khodorkovsky was detected with the instinct of safety of a truffle pig, how to exploit a general crisis situation to his personal to increase profit. The Menatep scandal was of course never worked legally, this is Mikhail's political protection provided by Yeltsin.
Then he turned increasingly to a very lucrative industry: the oil business. The oil company Yukos grew to become the second largest in the RF. This also grew Khodorkovsky's political ambitions. This Yukos played from the perspective of the government have a double role: in 2003, wanted his shares in Yukos, Mikhail Ch - sell to business partners from the U.S. - and thus the physical control of the group associated with oil stocks. This may have already caused many a frown, you see it in Russia but very reluctantly, when foreigners strategically important resources to bring under their sole control. Even more alarming, however, was
the message what Khodorkovsky wanted to do with the proceeds of the sale. In the years before, he had financed politicians and parties that were acceptable to him. Now he wanted to go into politics, converting economic power into political power. He was even foolish enough to proclaim it publicly. At a reception, he said, cost him $ 10 million, a deputy in the State Duma buy. Therefore, it is only a matter of mathematics, how much should he spend before - Khodorkovsky - the controlling majority in parliament. Shortly after he was arrested and his years of tax fell to his feet.
made it worse was his consistent refusal to adapt to the changed conditions after Yeltsin's resignation. Instead, like Roman Abramovich to take , a public office and do apologize for the massive stealing other people's money, his Khodorkovsky unswervingly pursued its own political agenda. In this respect, was his arrest and deprivation a showdown - who has to call the shots in Russia, the state or an individual business leader who thinks and can operate at will?
Considering this biography, Mikhail Khodorkovsky appears by no means as the unfortunate model entrepreneur, and Mr. Clean, as it represent the many. Embezzlement, criminal bankruptcy, tax fraud, vote-buying - that's no good evidence of an alleged political "reformers" or even "hope". On the contrary.
Not only Khodorkovsky's biography is full of sudden changes. First, he presented himself as the son of poor people, it has marketed as "Entrepreneur" to a certain prosperity. This strategy could in the long run, however, not be successful because he - typical of the oligarchs of the first hour - always has only values back and forth, but never produced. Real value happening in his little company.
After Khodorkovsky tried to portray themselves as victims of anti-Semitic conspiracy of the Kremlin. This accusation was so absurd that it took almost no resonance abroad. Successful he was with his self-description as a "clean business" that would have established its operations in the "Western accounting. This is true not - see Menatep -, however, met on greater resonance abroad.
The latest trick of his PR consultant is evidently to him as "political dissidents" to draw the fight against a sinister dictatorship. He also is said to be the hope of the Russian people, which is groaning under Putin's bloody whip. That is as absurd as the anti-thesis, but abroad, apparently applies a nerve. Here, the majority of Russians believe that Khodorkovsky is right there where it belongs: in prison. And even the few who support him do so out of selfish motives and not because they were convinced of his innocence. Four years ago, told a Moscow student who is among this group of people, "Khodorkovsky is just a pig like the other oligarchs. But he has supported us and Therefore, we must now fight for him. "
One could argue that the dark side of Khodorkovsky's life are known, but it was time to draw a line under the" pull wild '90s "and release him. Finally, it would have carried so many like him and he had also made an important contribution to the development of capitalism.
latter one can not reject out of hand. The economist and sociologist Werner Sombart counts in one of his studies the buccaneers of the "natures entrepreneurs" who have moved into the modern era, the emergence of capitalism (he thinks of people like Francis Drake). Nevertheless, the market economy in Western Europe has not stood still at this level. can later fought pirates were massive and executed, but they represented a significant threat to maritime trade in the oceans dar. Therefore we do not want to stay in the RF also this: On the contrary. There must be outlawed "entrepreneurs" are also opposed to the economy and politics can move halfway civilized trains.
The call for the immediate release of Khodorkovsky is also countered that it is known no equal in the wrong there. And since when the offenders may even decide when they have to pardon?
An early pardon would be possible if Mikhail Ch would finally repent of his countless offenses (after all, it is also murder charges against him). But the fact the public has been waiting for years in vain. On the contrary, he styled himself a wrongly persecuted. But without remorse no mercy. He is in a dilemma from which he himself would come out hard: he remains at its current defense strategy, he will have to serve the second sentence in full. Confesses he is guilty, however, to be released earlier that breaks over the years of laboriously built up by a dozen lawyers offering image. The people abroad (on the his PR targets mainly) would ask themselves what they believe the man still.
Khodorkovsky recent pronouncements suggest however, that he first wants to continue playing the martyr. And his well-known supporters abroad need him in that role. For them, it would be a disaster if he suddenly zugäbe that the charges against him would apply broadly.
bibliography and related links:
Khodorkovsky - the making of a myth
Putting the bout into Khodorkovsky
The Real Reason Why Putin Yukos oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky Arrested
Komsomol Capitalism
law against a Mafioso
Mikhail Chodorkovsky
"Read did I not, but on the other hand I am already"
Oligarchs by Day, Nascent Democrats by Night
Will the Real Russian dissident Please Stand Up
A Response To Vadim Nikitin's Arguments For The "Liberation" of Khodorkovsky And The Kuriles
Why Misha Khodorkovsky is a dissident?
ZOMG! Mikhail Khodorkovsky on hunger strike is going!
Related Posts:
Tolstoy is out of fashion
Stalin in Russia today
the octopus of Islamism
The German-Russian complex
0 comments:
Post a Comment