Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman, oligarch, and opposition activist, now residing in London. In 2003, Khodorkovsky was believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia, with a fortune estimated to be worth $15 billion, and was ranked 16th on Forbes list of billionaires. He had worked his way up the Komsomol apparatus, during the Soviet years, and started several businesses during the period of glasnost and perestroika in the late 1980s. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in the mid-1990s, he accumulated considerable wealth by obtaining control of a number of Siberian oil fields unified under the name Yukos, one of the major companies to emerge from the privatization of state assets during the 1990s (a scheme known as “Loans for Shares“). (wiki)
Loans for Shares
Khodorkovsky became the richest man of Russia and planned to run for president in the early 2000s. He challenged Putin by saying “25 percent of people in Russia believe that he is corrupt.”. And he challenged him by running for president. Putin had him arrested and sent to a modern day gulag. Years later Putin let him go free. Khordokovsky is now in exile and stills engages in politics, speaking in public about current events and also engaging in several political activities.
Visiting Khodorkovsky in Prison – 2006
