Khodorkovsky, Mikhail Borisovich, << koh dawr KOV skee, mih kah EEL buh RYEE suh vyihch >> (1963-…), is one of Russia’s most controversial citizens. He made a huge fortune during the 1990’s through owning or controlling many businesses. In the early 2000’s, he began to involve himself with Russian politics and financed political parties. In 2003, he was arrested on charges that he committed a number of financial crimes. In 2005, he was convicted of most of the charges and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Khodorkovsky was born in Moscow on June 26, 1963. He graduated from the Mendeleev Institute of Chemical Technology in 1986 with a degree in chemistry. In 1987, he founded what later became Menatep, the company that oversaw most of his businesses.
In the 1990’s, Russia’s government privatized (sold to companies or individuals) many state-owned enterprises. Khodorkovsky and a few other Russian businessmen gained control of most of the large privatized enterprises and became known as Russia’s oligarchs. An oligarchy is a type of government in which a few powerful people, called oligarchs, rule to increase their own power and wealth. In 1995, Khodorkovsky purchased a majority of the shares of Yukos Oil Company from the government. It became his most successful business.
Khodorkovsky provided funding for political parties that supported his companies’ interests. His growing power in politics, as well as his business empire’s economic influence, threatened Russia’s government leaders. Many observers believe this conflict led to his arrest in 2003 on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion. Khodorkovsky insisted that he was innocent, calling the accusations against him unfounded and his arrest, illegal. The Russian government then charged Yukos with failing to pay taxes and auctioned off large parts of the company.
In 2005, after a trial that lasted almost a year, the government convicted Khodorkovsky of most of the charges brought against him. He was sentenced to nine years in a prison camp and ordered to pay billions of rubles in taxes and penalties. Khodorkovsky appealed the verdict, and his supporters continued to protest his treatment by the government. The appeals court upheld all but one of the convictions, and it reduced his prison sentence to eight years. Khodorkovsky would have been eligible for parole after serving four years, but the government raised new charges in 2007, claiming he had embezzled millions of tons of oil from Yukos. Khodorkovsky lost his eligibility for parole and could not be released until 2011. The trial for the new charges began in 2009. Khodorkovsky was convicted of these charges in December 2010 and sentenced to an additional six years. His sentence was reduced in 2011, giving Khodorkovsky a release date of 2016. In December 2013, Khodorkovsky was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who cited Khodorkovsky’s ill mother as the reason for the early release. Khodorkovsky immediately left Russia.
