The Kremlin is Changing its Mind over Khodorkovsky’s Political Trial
Following the launch of the Drawings exhibition in Rome, Il Foglio's Massimo Boffa suggests that the winds are starting to change for Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev.
Having attended the press conference at the opening of the exhibition, Boffa comments that it is too soon to tell whether this is a real change of direction, however, something has happened. The change he referring to is the appearance of German Gref, former Russian Minister for Finance and current CEO of Sberbank and Viktor Khristenko, Russian Minister for Industry, at the trial. Both highlighted the absurdity of the charges against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev.
Boffa states: "What is becoming increasingly apparent...is that this second trial is embarrassing the political establishment much more than the first." He adds that the problem now is that the trial is finishing, and those behind the scene are not sure what to do. A guilty verdict will be internationally discrediting to Russian justice, but an "innocent" verdict would imply that the Prime Minister had lost some of his power.