Khodorkovsky: “Putin Chose Me To Be His Rival”
In an interview with Metro Russia, Mikhail Khodorkovsky responds to questions via his lawyer, Yury Schmidt.
Asked what his first day of freedom would be, Khodorkovsky said: "Dreams and plans can sap the will. I'm living in the here and now. I do what I can, happen what may." However, he added: "I believe in people, and this faith hasn't let me down even here, in jail."
Khodorkovsky said that since being imprisoned he has focused on his "major duties," and dispensed with all that is unnecessary. Regarding his family, Khodorkovsky said that he kept in touch "by correspondence." He added that he was proud that his daughter is now working for Novaya Gazeta.
When questioned about Russian attitudes towards him since his arrest, Khodorkovsky said: "I value the support of free people, not those who've found a way of co-existing with the system."
Speaking about Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Khodorkovsky said: "It was Putin who chose me to be his rival. I can't deny him this right. And he has shown his gratitude by feeding me and keeping me safe (in prison) for the past seven years." He added that President Dmitry Medvedev is a symbol of change, but he added that "he has not become that force for change."
When asked whether he believe Russia had a chance of building a democratic society, Khodorkovsky lamented the lack of choice. He said: " We are short of a hundred million Chinese if we want to pursue the Chinese path of modernization. Perhaps we could look in the Caucasus for a new Stalin to lead us? Or again subject the whole country to something like the Soviet experiment? No, it's time we lived like normal people and let other countries carry out experiments, if they want to." He added: "The more we do for those who really need it, the less our State officials will be able to steal."
Discussing the courtroom in which the current trail against him is being held, Khodorkovsky said that the defense team lay flowers to symbolise sympathy and solidarity. He said: "They are a symbol of life triumphing over this suffocating bureaucratic machine and its morbid servants."
Khodorkovsky ended the interview saying that he has no regrets, he said: "In the end we'll find out who was right. Now it's way too early!"