Tycoon arrested
The week's news at a glance.
Moscow
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s richest businessman and owner of the oil company Yukos, was arrested this week on dubious charges of fraud. He is just the latest in a series of Jewish business leaders who have been arrested or exiled since President Vladimir Putin took office. But because Khodorkovsky is the country’s richest man, and Yukos one of its most successful firms, his arrest shocked the political elite and sent the markets tumbling. Most observers saw it as political persecution—retaliation for Khodorkovsky’s support of an anti-Kremlin political party. Russian newspapers were apoplectic. Nezavisimaya gazeta said the arrest was “a blatant declaration of war on civil society,” while Novaya gazeta called it “a coup d’état” by the secret police.
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
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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Time-honored political tactic: Throw your wife under the bus'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Best non-alcoholic spirits for summer cocktails
The Week Recommends As hard liquor takes a backseat for many, the ingredients for the perfect mocktail are dryly delicious
By Ellie O'Mahoney, The Week UK Published
-
Will Biden's tariffs hinder China's EV dominance?
Today's Big Question Climate change goals and American jobs in tension
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published