Russia accuses Mikhail Khodorkovsky of planning a coup

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Russian authorities have opened a new criminal case against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once the country’s richest man and one of the Kremlin’s most prominent critics, on charges of plotting to overthrow Vladimir Putin’s regime.

On Tuesday, the country’s domestic intelligence service accused the former Yukos oil tycoon, along with 22 other exiled politicians, activists and businessmen, of planning a coup. Khodorkovsky and other alleged “founders” of the group were also accused of supporting Ukrainian units to seize power by force.

While those targeted have long faced persecution in RussiaThe case represents a new phase in the Kremlin’s campaign against its critics and reflects growing concern about the influence of dissidents abroad, despite official claims that the opposition has nothing to do with the matter.

On Tuesday, Khodorkovsky described the accusations as “ridiculous,” saying they were part of the Kremlin’s attempts to intimidate its opponents.

“Putin is very sensitive to the emergence of a democratic, anti-war Russian representation” abroad, he told the Financial Times. “The Kremlin is well aware that such legitimacy for the Russian opposition could become a very important political factor in the event of a sudden transfer of power.”

Khodorkovsky He also faces separate charges of public incitement to terrorism, which could carry a penalty of up to life in prison if extradited and convicted. He spent 10 years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges that were widely seen as politically motivated. Putin pardoned him and exiled him in 2013. He currently resides in London.

The list also includes former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and chess master Garry Kasparov, as well as opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was released from a Russian prison last year in a major prisoner swap with the United States and European countries.

Other names include Evgeny Chichvarkin, once one of Russia’s leading electronics retailers, who now runs a fine wine store and restaurant in London’s Mayfair, and Mikhail Kokorych, who co-founded Nasdaq-listed Momentus and the Swiss-based aviation and space company Destinus.

All of the people named in the case are linked to the Russian Anti-War Committee, an opposition coalition founded abroad in February 2022, shortly after Putin’s large-scale crackdown. Invasion of Ukrainewhich was immediately banned at home.

The FSB notes that the coalition signed the 2023 “Berlin Declaration” that called for the removal of the current Russian leadership. The report also notes the group’s participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace), a human rights forum representing lawmakers from 46 countries. Russia left the Council of Europe in 2022 after facing exclusion following its invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Pace Announce Creation of a “platform for dialogue between the association and Russian democratic forces in exile,” the most significant step yet toward official representation abroad of anti-Putin groups. Participants must be of the “highest moral standard” and meet several conditions, including recognition of Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, Pace said.

According to the FSB, Khodorkovsky portrayed this platform as a “constituent assembly for a transitional period” and an alternative to Russian state institutions. The agency also alleged that members of the anti-war committee are “financing and recruiting members of Ukrainian nationalist armed groups inside Russia” to “subsequently use them to seize power by force.”

In a post on X, Khodorkovsky denied the allegations of “recruiting fighters” and “arming the Ukrainian army” as “lies.” He wrote: “Sorry, but no. Humanitarian aid – yes.”