How many crimes can one man commit?
The week's news at a glance.
Russia
Yegor Stasov
Sobesednik
The Kremlin’s accusations against Mikhail Khodorkovsky have reached the point of absurdity, said Yegor Stasov in the Moscow magazine Sobesednik. The former owner of Yukos oil company was convicted last year on dubious charges of fraud and tax evasion and sentenced to nine years of hard labor. If he were truly guilty, that should have been the end of it. Lately, though, Kremlin-controlled publications have been “churning out an ominous quantity of articles purporting to reveal the full extent” of Khodorkovsky’s crimes. It’s as if the Kremlin knows that most people believe the man was unjustly persecuted for his political opposition to President Vladimir Putin, and is trying to provide new justifications for his jailing. But these new, unofficial charges are so preposterous that “even those who want to be convinced will find them very hard to believe.” Khodorkovsky is accused of “planning to seize power” by buying off the members of the state legislature. Yet the legislature is heavily dominated by the Kremlin-backed parties. Are we supposed to “picture the oligarch visiting the presidential administration in the dead of night, with a large bag of money, seeking to buy power from, well, those in power?” The idea “would be funny if it weren’t so sad.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AI
Feature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
By The Week US Published
-
George Foreman: The boxing champ who reinvented home grills
Feature He helped define boxing’s golden era
By The Week US Published