Mikhail Khodorkovsky: There Will Be A Revolution In Russia

Business Insider

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former CEO of oil giant Yukos now serving time in Siberia for stealing crude oil, has told Russian radio that he predicts there will be a revolution in Russia.

Khodorkovsky was talking on the phone to Echo of Moscow radio, answering questions from listeners —which predictably turned to the political situation in Russia.

Here are some of the key passages, via Pravda.ru:

"I am afraid that the country will see many years of standstill. There will be a political crisis and the revolutionary (and bloodless, I would like to hope) change of power" 

"Our country needs more social justice and it can not exist without it. It can not exist without the care for those who can't take care of themselves. It can not exist without giving all children an equal chance to be settled in life. These are leftist or social ideas, to be more precise. However, we will be able to reach this harmony only if we step on the way of political pluralism and honest elections - on the way of liberalism that is to say." 

"Russia is ready to become a nation law-governed state of the European type. The most important aspect here is culture. More than 80 percent of the population in Russia refer themselves to the Russian culture." 

"We are very close to committing national suicide. The attempts to preserve the empire instead of building the nation state governed by the rule of law have cost us a lot. We need to urge everyone who identifies themselves with the Russian culture to come to Russia. We need to change the environment for that, to move to the European, pluralistic political model with the division of authorities and with influential opposition."

This was also covered by RT