Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center

Political activist Garry Kasparov comments on the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, saying that the prosecutors are starting to get nervous. He believes they are afraid of being dismissed if the trial goes the wrong way.

He says: "The trial against Mikhail is not so much a trial for the Kremlin, but a trial for Vladimir Putin's team that will become a heavy burden for Russia's governing elite if the social and economic crisis deepens."

Kasparov believes that the authorities are afraid of an open trial because they have nothing to say. "It is a tragedy that reflects all the wrongs of the system: a lack of competence, fear, and secrecy," he concludes.