Oligarch in exile Mikhail Khodorkovsky: – Fears Putin’s successor

Mikhail Khodorkovsky (58) was the richest oligarch in Russia. As the owner and CEO of the Russian oil giant Yukos, he also had close relations with President Vladimir Putin.

However, it ended when in 2003 he spoke out loud about corruption in Russia and began describing himself as a critic of the Russian regime. The former oligarch was arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison for what human rights organizations described as punishment for criticizing the Kremlin.

Today he lives in exile in London and is one of the most prominent dissidents in Russia. He has gone on several occasions strongly against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Worried about the sequel

In an interview with a British independent The oligarch in exile says he believes support for the war among the Russian people will decline within two years. He believes that Russian history has shown that regimes that lose war will be in big trouble within two years.

He believes it is difficult to determine whether this will mean the end of Putin. He believes that even if Putin is ousted from power, it will not necessarily be good news for the West.

This is perhaps one of my greatest interests. The Russian people want a good Tsar. And the West wants a good Caesar. But in Russia, a good tsar is always an imperialist. The only way to destroy the imperial mentality of Russian power is to change the regime, Khodorkovsky says.

speculation

Throughout the Ukraine war, speculation was rife that Putin’s presidency might soon be a thing of the past. Former Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov He denied that Putin was ill.

Both British and American intelligence reported The internal struggle in the Russian ruling elite, which Putin should have felt through the light of his inner circlewho out of fear mocked him about what is really happening in Ukraine.

For its part, Ukrainian intelligence has repeatedly claimed this The ruling elite around Putin is plotting a coupAnd that the head of intelligence, Alexander Bortnikov, who has been close to Putin for several years, is a possible alternative.

Hell on Earth

Not much time left

As early as March, Khodorkovsky stated that war in Ukraine would do led to the fall of Putin.

– I am convinced that Putin does not have much time left. Maybe one year. He said maybe three CNN this time.

Also in April repeat message:

– Russian history has taught us that regimes that lose a war run into major problems within two years. “I think Putin will lose this war if he does not win in the Donbass, and his dramatic mistakes will most likely result in him not staying for more than two to five years as a dictator,” Khodorkovsky said.