Russia announced it has opened a new criminal case against exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Russia’s Federal Security Service said Tuesday it has opened a criminal case against exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, accusing him of creating a “terrorist organization” and planning to seize power violently.

Khodorkovsky, an oil tycoon who was once Russia’s richest man, spent 10 years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges that he and many Western countries said were politically motivated.

The Federal Security Service said the charges relate to the activities of a group supported by Khodorkovsky and opposed to the war in Ukraine. The group, called the Anti-War Committee, has been banned in Russia.

There was no immediate comment from Khodorkovsky or his representatives.

Supported Yeltsin in the 1990s

Khodorkovsky He rose to prominence as one of a handful of wealthy businessmen who supported former Russian President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s, and as a result gained enormous power over the Russian economy.

It fell from grace when Yeltsin’s successor, Vladimir Putin, tightened the Kremlin’s grip on previously independent-minded businessmen.

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He was pardoned in 2013 and left Russia. He has since supported a series of groups opposed to Russian President Putin.

Khodorkovsky Since 2022, he has positioned himself as a prominent figure among Russian exiles who support Kiev against Moscow in the Ukrainian war. Shortly after the outbreak of war, Russia designated him a “foreign agent.”