- Mikhail Khodorkovsky
- Platon Lebedev
"I’m for a strong state in Russia... I’m for an active industrial policy, a social state."
- Current Legal Status: Petitions for Parole
- Incarcerated: Chita Detention Center
- Latest Statement: Global Perestroika, November 2008
Khodorkovsky is known to the world for his commitment to transparency and corporate governance in business as well as his contributions to the development of civil society in Russia. He is Russia's most famous political prisoner.
"I believe in Russia's future, and this also includes Russia's judicial system. I try to help the judicial system to become qualified, independent and impartial... We have an opportunity to set things right so that no one will ever feel ashamed of our country."
- Current Legal Status: Case Under Ongoing Investigation
- Incarcerated: Chita Detention Center
- Latest Statement: An Appeal , March 2007
Platon Lebedev, was Director of Group MENATEP Limited, the holding company for YUKOS. Trained as an industrial economist, Lebedev pioneered modern business practices.
News & Recent Developments
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Former Yukos Executive Vasily Aleksanyan Freed on Bail
"An ailing former executive of the dismantled oil giant Yukos who was jailed in 2006 was freed Tuesday after posting a $1.8 million bail."
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Court Extends Custody of Yukos Founder's Partner
"An East Siberian court has extended the custody of Platon Lebedev, the business partner of Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, until April 2, 2009."
The investigation into new charges brought against Lebedev and Khodorkovsky in early July of laundering $28.3 billion and stealing oil between 1998 and 2004 has also been extended until April 2, 2009."
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Court Turns Down Khodorkovsky, Lebedev's Cassation Appeal
"The Chita Regional Court has turned down a cassation appeal lodged by lawyers of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to the verdict passed by the Ingodinsky District Court of Chita, which refused to the lawyers to accept a cassation appeal for investigation."
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Khodorkovsky's Familiarization With Case Materials Limited to January 26
The Chita Oblast Court changed a ruling by the Ingodinsky District Court and limited the period of familiarization with the case files for Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his lawyers to January 26.
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Ex-Yukos Lawyer, Newborn Child Greet New Year in Prison Hospital
"Svetlana Bakhmina will meet New Year with her month-old daughter in a prison hospital. Her lawyer, Roman Golovkin said: "Svetlana Bakhmina and her daughter ... Read More »
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Moscow Court Finds Ex-Yukos Official Guilty of Embezzlement
"A Moscow court has found Alexei Kurtsin, a former manager of Yukos, guilty of abuse of office and embezzling $2.6 million.
The prosecution has asked for... Read More »
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Russian Opposition Leader's Supporters Get Suspended Sentences for Forgery
"A court in Chita has passed a guilty verdict against defendants accused of forging signatures collected in support of Mikhail Kasyanov's nomination as a Rus... Read More »
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Russian Gas Supplies to Europe Cut Off
"Russian gas supplies via Ukraine to western Europe have been completely shut off. Both sides have blamed each other for the current impasse, however negotia... Read More »
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European Gas Supplies Disrupted
"Several European countries say they have suffered major disruption to their Russian gas supplies after Moscow cut deliveries to Ukraine. Turkey said all its... Read More »
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Europe Feels Heat from Gas Stand-Off
"Russia and Ukraine have traded insults as a gas stand-off between the two countries entered a fifth day, causing gas shortages to ripple west into Europe. ... Read More »
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Putin's Third Way
"A policy of greater transparency and formality at Yukos led to a sharp rise in the company's equity value and Khodorkovsky's personal wealth. However, the t... Read More »
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Mercy of the State
"In an interview with Yury Schmidt, Mikhail Khodorkovsky's lawyer, he said that he does not believe Dmitry Medvedev taking Khodorkovsky's case differently to... Read More »
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Gazprom, Once Mighty, Is Reeling
"A year ago, Gazprom aspired to be the largest corporation in the world. Today, Gazprom is deep in debt. That Russia's largest state-run energy company needs... Read More »
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Fifth Anniversary of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s Arrest
Watch a brief video about the persecution of Russia’s most famous political prisoners, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. Read More »
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Human Rights Community Briefing
Lawyers for Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev were in New York in October, 2008 speaking to the human rights community at a briefing and dinner hosted by the ... Read More »
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky: Russia's Political Prisoner
Watch a brief video about the unjust trial, imprisonment and human rights violations of Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Read More »
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Statement in Response to New Charges
Khodorkovsky asks the “investigative group not to humiliate itself and the country with knowingly absurd assertions.” Read More »
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Plea for Parole
“I am submitting this parole application to you because I believe that the positive decision on this issue will be just and lawful in all respects: for the... Read More »
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Statement in Response to Treatment of Vasiliy Aleksanyan
“[Russian authorities] are killing [Aleksanyan] in prison because he, as a courageous and honest man, refuses to lie and slander.” Read More »
About the Center
The Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center Web site was developed by the international legal team of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to tell the story of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to raise awareness of their status in Russia as political prisoners.
What Others are Saying
“The Obama White House will have to navigate a difficult and narrow path in its relations with Moscow in 2009 between continuing to engage Moscow on the key issues of mutual concern (Iran, missile defense, nonproliferation, terrorism), on the one hand, and the broader strategic goal of assisting democratic stabilization in Russia.” Leon Aron, Director of Russian studies at the American Enterprise Institute
The Bigger Picture
Events in Russia have always been important to the United States and the European Union, and it is clear that the relationship between these nations is strained. Learn more »
"Suddenly, Russia stands out as one of the countries likely to be worst hit by the international financial crisis." Anders Aslund, Senior Fellow of the Peterson Institute for International Economics
The Bigger Picture
Investors and businesses interpreted the attack on YUKOS and arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky in 2003 to be an attack on property rights, inflicting billions of dollars of damage to the Russian economy. Learn more »
"You can’t have flourishing companies without an open society. It was because [Khodorkovsky] understood this - and therefore wanted to make society more open - that he came into conflict with the model of power that president Putin represents." Yuliya Latynina, Journalist
The Bigger Picture
Khodorkovsky was a well-known critic of corruption in government. His politically motivated arrest was a severe setback for the development of civil society in Russia. Learn more »