Mikhail Khodorkovsky He was one of the richest men in Russia. That was before his career was cut short in prison, where he was thrown out in 2003 for alleged tax fraud. According to some, he would have had what it takes to challenge Wladimir Putinonly after ten years in prison he was forced to leave Moscow to settle in the UK.
In Putin’s mind
Today Khodorkovsky is one of the most important dissidents of the Russian President. Apparently he followed the Ukraine conflict and gave several interviews to explain his position. In particular, the entrepreneur has sketched the outlines modus operandi from Putin. Or rather, he tried to explain how the Kremlin chief thinks. In a speech to CNN, Khodorkovsky said Putin was running out of time. “He doesn’t have much time left: a year or three. His chance of staying in power has dwindled a lot since the invasion. We can’t even imagine seeing him in power for another decade,” was the version of businessman. who lives in the heart of London.
A man like Putin can really use thatnuclear weapon? “He can do anything,” replied Khodorkovsky, who has tasted the Russian president’s character at his own expense in the past. The entrepreneur also explained that the West makes different ones error against the tsar. For example, it would be a mistake to believe that the oligarchs could come to persuade Putin to change his mind. The reason is simple: for Khodorkovsky, Russia “is not an oligarchy: it is a dictatorship, and the oligarchs are just tools, agents of the Kremlin. You cannot influence the dictator”.
The use of force
If, as Khodorkovsky revealed, even the army and intelligence services don’t have too many opportunities to influence Putin, then imagine the impact dialogues with foreign leaders have. “All his life he has been involved with criminal elements and has had to deal with the criminal world. He doesn’t respect the law. If you don’t show him forceif he thinks you are weak as he thinks of Macron, for example he will do what he wants with you, the Russian tycoon added, repeating that the only thing that could stop Putin is the use of force .
According to Khodorkovsky, Joe Biden there was nothing wrong with verbally beating the top of the Kremlin. The mistake of the American President was that he did not accompany these words with the effective use of force. “When Biden says there will be a strong response to the use of weapons of mass destruction, that is not a provocation but a brake on Putin. On the other hand, when Scholz or Macron say that they will not go to confrontation with Putin, that encourages him,” said the Russian businessman. In short, according to Khodorkovsky, Western presidents do not understand Putin’s mental mechanisms.
Three ways out
Putin is currently in a delicate situation, to say the least. The Russian President intended to “change the Ukrainian regime” and “expected to be greeted by Ukrainians with flowers in the streets”. None of this happened and “if that didn’t happen, he is crazy“.
“In his mind, Putin is already at war with the United States of America and the Born. Their propaganda has already begun to prepare Russian public opinion for war with NATO. This is not the last step: the next is i Baltic countries added the former child prodigy of the Russian economy.
For Khodorkovsky there are three scenarios for the Kremlin boss. The first is to continue to pressure Ukraine to lose men and waste resources; the second in the use of weapons of mass destruction (such as the atomic bomb); the third in initiating real negotiations. “If NATO said with one voice that NATO will react if Putin uses weapons of mass destruction, Putin would be urged to sit down at the negotiating table,” concluded Putin’s opponent.