SLIP FASTER:

Slippery prop for democracy (Constantine Pleshakov, Nov. 2, 2003, The Japan Times)

[T]ax evasion is not the worst thing one could say about the new rich. Khodorkovsky and other moguls amassed their fortunes in the most disreputable way: While the Soviet economy was falling apart like a house of cards, they quickly and quietly grabbed the valuable pieces. The so-called privatization process in Russia left the populace penniless while feeding bullion to the happy few, turning them into Russia's first generation of Robber Barons.

So Khodorkovsky is not an innocent lamb or an idealistic martyr, but basically an unscrupulous, tax-evading, big-time swindler. If he gets a jail term, it will be well-deserved.

Still, Putin, who has obviously orchestrated Khodorkovsky's purge, is no Robin Hood. Khodorkovsky was arrested not because he was a Robber Baron, but because he was a Robber Baron on the wrong side of the barricades.

Putin is doing very little to bridle all-pervasive corruption, but he is doing everything to guarantee his re-election in March and, before that, the victory of his party in December's parliamentary election. Khodorkovsky was reckless enough to announce his own political ambitions and to start financing a number of opposition groups. That was a sure way to incur Putin's wrath.

True, under Putin, Russia has done better economically than under his predecessor Yeltsin, and Putin enjoys impressive popularity with the voters. But the overall picture is not rosy enough, particularly outside bigger cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, to guarantee his continued tenure in the Kremlin.

Mr. Putin, if he's to be a historic figure, must universalize the crackdown on the oligarchy in his next term.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 2, 2003 6:17 AM