“... but political intrigue could keep him in prison for the rest of his life” (Omsk poll)

Ten days before the Ingodinsky district court in Chita is due to examine Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s petition for release on parole the Omsk periodical Business Course (Biznes kurs) collected 22 answers to the question, Would you release Mikhail Khodorkovsky?

Oleg Smolin, Duma deputy (Communist Party): Why should one person be able to live in London, buy yachts and football clubs while the other is shut up in prison? I’d let him go.

Leonid Maevsky, president of the LB Finance Group, former candidate for governor of the Omsk Region: I think in this case we should act strictly in accordance with the law. If the law permits, then Khodorkovsky should be freed.

Vladimir Volkov, chairman of the IT Bank board of directors: I wouldn’t have jailed him in the first place. Khodorkovsky was then doing what almost all businessmen did. He was singled out and it’s clear that the reasons were not economic.

Vladimir Bulychev, member of the Russian Writers Union: Of course, Khodorkovsky should not be released. Others should be sent to join him in prison. The money earned by today’s oligarchs was obtained by unlawful means, after which we became the country with the most billionaires in the world. All his campaign against corruption and Medvedev’s other similar measures are merely decorative. There is no real battle against corruption. If they wanted they could sort it out within six months. However, not only the oligarchs are to blame but also the regime, which mutely permitted it all to happen.

Alexander Kravets, first secretary of the Communist Party’s Omsk regional committee: The oligarchs should not be released on parole. They should be shot without trial or investigation. Although Khodorkovsky does have the right, by law, to be released. And he is no more guilty than Abramovich and the other well-known oligarchs. I’m convinced, however, that the decisive factor in this situation is the political climate and not legal norms.

Vladislav Titorenko, executive director of the League of Professional Administrators: I consider that Khodorkovsky ought to be released, since his case was more political than anything else. In Russia everyone, from the smallest to the grandest, is engaged in tax optimisation. It is not prohibited by law. Does that mean all businessmen should be arrested and imprisoned?

Andrei Popov, director of the Adam Service technical centre: I couldn’t say one way or the other. All I know from the national media is that Khodorkovsky was convicted for “tax evasion”. However, I am not familiar with the details of the case. As a businessman, I must say, he appeals to me.

Sergei Sheptunov, deputy president (legal) of the Osha Group: I doubt it. I’ve heard that yet another criminal case has been brought against |Khodorkovsky, which speaks for his bad reputation.

Gennady Brysin, member of Communist Party’s local Sovetsky district committee: I’d let him go. I consider Khodorkovsky fell victim not to criminal justice but the sharing out of property.

Igor Kolesnikov, director of Kolesnikov & Co, legal agency for the defence of intellectual property: No. Because millions of stolen roubles are involved. Parole for Khodorkovsky would serve as a pretext for him and other major businessmen to commit new crimes.

Svetlana Andrushko, former deputy of the Omsk Region legislative assembly: I would free him. It seems to me that when one individual is in prison for doing what thousand of others who have robbed the country still go on doing, there is no issue of justice involved.

Dmitry Gusev, co-director of the Baxter Group PR agency (Yekaterinburg-Moscow): I know, I know — it’s August, there’s never any news, you’ve nothing else to write about ... (laughs). I’m not a judge and it’s difficult for me give an answer. The Khodorkovsky case is very tangled up with politics. It will be sufficient if the court is guided by the law, and the law alone.

Alexander Zimbalist, ex-speaker of the city council: Now, it turns out, Khodorkovsky not only has financial violations on his conscience but the deaths of other people. If it was only a question of money, I’d release him. There are hundreds like him, and they are free to come and go as they please. If the investigators prove that “there is blood” on the prisoner then I think he must answer in full for his crimes.

Vasily Zhurko, Duma deputy (Liberal Democrats): I’ve no idea. I’m not acquainted with the legal aspects of the case. As to what they say on TV and radio, and what they write in the newspapers, ... well, I don’t believe a word of it. There is also the moral side of things. In that respect everything is quite simple. Morality and the wealth this man owns are incompatible.

Gennady Gudkov, Duma deputy: Probably they should consider the possibility of releasing Khodorkovsky on parole. Our judicial system is selective — in the 1990s, after all, many people committed similar crimes. In my view, if they have not murdered anyone or been found guilty of other serious crimes an amnesty should even be declared. Although ... Balzac, with good reason, once said: “A crime lies behind every great fortune”.

Yury Shadrin, human rights activist: According to the law, they should release him. There are no obstacles in the way. Because of political intrigues, however, he could be kept in prison for the rest of his days. In Russia informal orders, over the telephone, and political vendettas operate much more effectively than the judicial system.

Mikhail Rogozhnikov, senior lecturer in State and municipal law, faculty of jurisprudence, Omsk University: I can only pass comment on this situation from the legal point of view since here, far from Moscow, we may not know everything about the Khodorkovsky case. There are precise juridical grounds laid down for release on parole.

Anatoly Adabir, deputy speaker of the Region’s legislative assembly: Everything must be done without emotions and in accordance with the law. The issue should be resolved exclusively in legal terms to prevent any administrative interference.

Karto Avetisyan, owner of the Ararat restaurant: I think he has a chance of getting out. He’s no criminal. His mistake, in my view, was to mix business and politics and over-estimate his own strength. I am convinced that he would never have become, and now will never be, President of Russia.

Igor Basov, chairman of the Omsk city public council: I wouldn’t unlock the door. A criminal should stay behind bars.

Dmitry Dmitriev, lawyer, director of the Omsk Region Union of Real Estate Consumers: I think that Khodorkovsky has not yet paid the price for his guilt and should not be let out early.

Oksana Sevastyuk, general director of Centrzhilservis: I’d prefer clever people to use their energy for the good of the country and for its development and not be shut up in prison. Though I appreciate that everything must be done according to the law and there must be legal grounds for early release.