It’s been two years since this sentence was delivered and now a second sentence is looming ahead. However, Inna Khodorkovskaya believes that there will be a time when everything will fall into place.

They say that a new term may be much longer. What do you brace yourself for? What hopes or fears do you have?

I do not have any fears…I believe that it’s not worth waiting and fearing. It’s unpredictable anyway, because it’s outside the law. But I believe that there’s another supreme law, the law of being, and it predetermines a day when everything will finally fall into place. It’s inevitable.

Have you always known Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s personality? Did you marry the man he is now? Or has he been able to surprise you with his perseverance?

In his peaceful years, some of his features were hidden. They were not so pronounced because then Mikhail had other aims and goals. Though perseverance, stamina and confidence have always been his best features, they made him stand out. As you can understand, it is unlikely that a weak-spirited person would be able to survive such a hardship.

You and your daughter have recently returned from Chita after a three-hour meeting with Mikhail…You once said that Nastya’s first meeting with her father in the pre-trial detention centre had a very beneficial impact on her and took her out of her state of shock. Do meetings with her father in the colony and Chita’s detention facility provide the same degree of benefit?

Her father helps Nastya a lot. Now she is experiencing a transitional period. He has a soothing effect on her. He guides her and helps her not to get caught up in emotions. It sounds funny, but he gave her his opinion like an outsider. That’s what she needs. We all live at a crossroads while Mikhail, who has global problems, can easily solve ours after analysing them. Despite a lack of systematic communication, he intuitively gives us valuable and constructive advice.

Twins Gleb and Ilya have started attending school. How were the little Khodorkovskys greeted at school?
Children, naturally, ask: “Where’s your dad? Why doesn’t he come to pick you up?” They answer that their dad is in prison. But teachers are aware of the situation. We have different children in the school. Even when I attend parent-teacher meetings, all pupils are called by their first names – Vasya, Vanya, Gleb, Ilya…

You said that before the worse it was for you the more frequently Mikhail Borisovich told you “We’ll get through this!” Does he say the same words “We’ll get through this!” often? (Inna Khodorkovskaya takes a while before giving an answer)

Probably there’s no real optimism about “We’ll get through this!” now. Maybe now it’s not so much declaratory as a firm and calm “We’ll get through this”. It’s just that he has been more of an idealist in life. He had his daring experiments. And now it’s about real life ordeals. It’s painful. It hurts.

Everything before the arrest seems like a dream now. As if it had never happened to us. If something changes again it will be a continuation of the story occurring to us today and not that of our previous life. Everyone got scattered, everyone had their fates turned upside down. We won’t be able to get away from this bit of our life. We will crawl further with this experience put behind us. And God helps us all to keep our health and strength. He’ll be freed and we’ll start recognising each other again. It will all be different for those who will be able to survive this catastrophe.

Does Mikhail Borisovich ask you to pass on some concrete words to each of your sons?

Yes, I certainly tell him who has such and such a character and preferences. But I think it’s difficult to tell one from another. When Mikhail was arrested you couldn’t really understand their personal response. But their personalities are more shaped now. I know how to talk to Gleb or Ilya. And you cannot deal with them the same way because they are absolutely different personalities. He finds it difficult to understand it. He regards them as cute and small children.

You said that Gleb is closer to his father and Ilya to his mother. Is it still the same? Is it really hard for Gleb to accept not seeing his father?

Gleb finds it harder without his father. He keeps asking about terms all the time. Even when he talked to his father on the phone for three minutes, he learned about terms. Gleb also resembles his father more in the way he thinks. Ilya sails through life. He’s at ease with different people. He doesn’t mull over a situation, he’s driven and he has drive. Gleb is different. Thank God. He takes one step, then a second and a third. He takes it very seriously. He’s a serious lad. Ilya is creative. Gleb is more pragmatic. Gleb is more focused, he writes better, he reads better. Ilya grasps everything in a second, but he doesn’t make use of his abilities.

You said that you had changed a lot (the burden of responsibility is on your shoulders) and your husband noticed these changes. Did he say anything? Does he like the changes about you?

He doesn’t like it without me in his life…I have always been a guarded territory for him, which he took care of and defended. Everything is changed now and he’s proud of the stamina of a little girl that can survive without him.

What in your opinion do the authorities attempt to achieve?

They are making Mikhail a deterrent for others. The state regime is changing and it needs victims and enemies.

(Press-centre)