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| Economist Flees as Russia Aims Beyond Protesters | |
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| MOSCOW — A prominent, liberal-minded economist has fled Russia under pressure from government investigators, as the Kremlin’s yearlong crackdown moves beyond protesters and their leaders to elite power brokers who are suspected of supporting them. | MOSCOW — A prominent, liberal-minded economist has fled Russia under pressure from government investigators, as the Kremlin’s yearlong crackdown moves beyond protesters and their leaders to elite power brokers who are suspected of supporting them. |
| The economist, Sergei Guriev, who wielded significant influence under the presidency of Dmitri A. Medvedev, has been questioned repeatedly in a case that stems from a report of which he was a co-author that criticized the legal incompetence of the prosecution of Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the imprisoned oil tycoon. | |
| Mr. Guriev’s flight comes amid investigations that focus on Moscow insiders who, investigators believe, have offered support to the opposition movement. | Mr. Guriev’s flight comes amid investigations that focus on Moscow insiders who, investigators believe, have offered support to the opposition movement. |
| Behind their suspicions lies an uncomfortable truth: Among the businessmen and technocrats who make up Moscow’s ruling class are many who hold relatively liberal views, and who are uncomfortable with the repressive, conservative course Vladimir V. Putin has set since his return to the presidency. But they have felt safe, for the most part, until now. | Behind their suspicions lies an uncomfortable truth: Among the businessmen and technocrats who make up Moscow’s ruling class are many who hold relatively liberal views, and who are uncomfortable with the repressive, conservative course Vladimir V. Putin has set since his return to the presidency. But they have felt safe, for the most part, until now. |
| “This means that no one has immunity,” said Aleksei V. Makarkin, an analyst at Moscow’s Center for Political Technologies. “If any representative of the elite enters into a relationship with the opposition, he takes a great risk.” | “This means that no one has immunity,” said Aleksei V. Makarkin, an analyst at Moscow’s Center for Political Technologies. “If any representative of the elite enters into a relationship with the opposition, he takes a great risk.” |
| Mr. Guriev would not comment on his decision, and he has said he is vacationing with his wife and children in France. But a friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr. Guriev left Russia abruptly because he “had reason to believe he could be deprived of his freedom.” | |
| Investigations have begun to scrutinize government insiders, including officials who fell into Mr. Medvedev’s liberal-leaning camp. Notably, investigators opened a criminal case against a top official at the Skolkovo Foundation, the state-financed innovation hub that was Mr. Medvedev’s trademark project, claiming the payment of hefty speaker’s fees to the opposition leader Ilya V. Ponomarev. | Investigations have begun to scrutinize government insiders, including officials who fell into Mr. Medvedev’s liberal-leaning camp. Notably, investigators opened a criminal case against a top official at the Skolkovo Foundation, the state-financed innovation hub that was Mr. Medvedev’s trademark project, claiming the payment of hefty speaker’s fees to the opposition leader Ilya V. Ponomarev. |
| One of the few political heavyweights affiliated with Mr. Medvedev, the deputy prime minister Vladislav Y. Surkov, resigned after publicly criticizing the investigation, amid reports he was forced out. Officials, speaking anonymously, told journalists that Mr. Surkov — who once called the anti-Putin protesters “the best part of our society” — was himself funneling money to opposition groups. | One of the few political heavyweights affiliated with Mr. Medvedev, the deputy prime minister Vladislav Y. Surkov, resigned after publicly criticizing the investigation, amid reports he was forced out. Officials, speaking anonymously, told journalists that Mr. Surkov — who once called the anti-Putin protesters “the best part of our society” — was himself funneling money to opposition groups. |
| Mr. Guriev, the rector of the New Economic School, seemed untouchable until recently. He wrote speeches for Mr. Medvedev, sat on numerous advisory bodies and served on the boards of state companies. When President Obama visited Moscow in 2009, he chose Mr. Guriev’s university as the site for a speech. | Mr. Guriev, the rector of the New Economic School, seemed untouchable until recently. He wrote speeches for Mr. Medvedev, sat on numerous advisory bodies and served on the boards of state companies. When President Obama visited Moscow in 2009, he chose Mr. Guriev’s university as the site for a speech. |
| A centrist figure, on good terms with most of Moscow’s power brokers, Mr. Guriev took the unusual step last May of contributing 10,000 rubles, or around $320, to a fund supporting the anticorruption efforts of Aleksei A. Navalny, an opposition leader. | A centrist figure, on good terms with most of Moscow’s power brokers, Mr. Guriev took the unusual step last May of contributing 10,000 rubles, or around $320, to a fund supporting the anticorruption efforts of Aleksei A. Navalny, an opposition leader. |
| In an essay about the decision, he said he did it because he believes Russia needs more political competition. | In an essay about the decision, he said he did it because he believes Russia needs more political competition. |
| “Am I not afraid?” he wrote. “No. I am a free person. I know that as long as I haven’t violated the law, no one can forbid me to say something or do something. Might I be misled? Of course.” | |
| Since then, Mr. Guriev has been questioned repeatedly in a case stemming from the 2011 report on Mr. Khodorkovsky’s case. Investigators have scrutinized several experts, contending they received money a decade ago from a fund linked to Yukos, Mr. Khodorkovsky’s company. | |
| Mr. Guriev’s friend, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to comment on the case, said that after the most recent round of questioning, Mr. Guriev “asked a number of influential people in Moscow who normally would protect him, and he was given advice that he was not safe.” The friend added, “He left in a hurry, we’re talking about a few days.” | Mr. Guriev’s friend, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to comment on the case, said that after the most recent round of questioning, Mr. Guriev “asked a number of influential people in Moscow who normally would protect him, and he was given advice that he was not safe.” The friend added, “He left in a hurry, we’re talking about a few days.” |
| Another friend and colleague, the Pennsylvania State University economist Barry W. Ickes, cast Mr. Guriev’s decision as the result of a long deliberation. “It came to a point where he had to make a decision, because he was in limbo,” he said. | Another friend and colleague, the Pennsylvania State University economist Barry W. Ickes, cast Mr. Guriev’s decision as the result of a long deliberation. “It came to a point where he had to make a decision, because he was in limbo,” he said. |
| Dmitri S. Peskov, a spokesman for Mr. Putin, said that as far as he knew, Mr. Guriev had simply left Russia on vacation, and that he could not comment on the investigation. “This is not our question. This has nothing to do with the Kremlin, nothing to do with the president,” he said. “The only thing I can tell you is that this is pure speculation.” | Dmitri S. Peskov, a spokesman for Mr. Putin, said that as far as he knew, Mr. Guriev had simply left Russia on vacation, and that he could not comment on the investigation. “This is not our question. This has nothing to do with the Kremlin, nothing to do with the president,” he said. “The only thing I can tell you is that this is pure speculation.” |
| Commenting on Mr. Guriev’s case on Wednesday, the pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei A. Markov wrote that institutions like Skolkovo and the New Economic School had been used to funnel funds to demonstrators. | Commenting on Mr. Guriev’s case on Wednesday, the pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei A. Markov wrote that institutions like Skolkovo and the New Economic School had been used to funnel funds to demonstrators. |
| “The sudden departure of Guriev is connected to the attempt to keep out of the hands of investigators these secret channels, through which oligarchic and federal budgetary funds went to support the revolutionary anti-Putin opposition,” Mr. Markov said. “The goal was, of course, not direct revolution, but for Putin to give up his intentions to return for a third term.” | “The sudden departure of Guriev is connected to the attempt to keep out of the hands of investigators these secret channels, through which oligarchic and federal budgetary funds went to support the revolutionary anti-Putin opposition,” Mr. Markov said. “The goal was, of course, not direct revolution, but for Putin to give up his intentions to return for a third term.” |
| A year after Mr. Putin’s return, the balance between liberals and hard-liners in his government has changed rapidly, and a shadow of suspicion has fallen over much of Mr. Medvedev’s legacy. Mr. Medvedev’s team is now seen in the Kremlin as sympathetic toward the opposition, and it draws even more suspicion than the protesters themselves, Mr. Makarkin said. | A year after Mr. Putin’s return, the balance between liberals and hard-liners in his government has changed rapidly, and a shadow of suspicion has fallen over much of Mr. Medvedev’s legacy. Mr. Medvedev’s team is now seen in the Kremlin as sympathetic toward the opposition, and it draws even more suspicion than the protesters themselves, Mr. Makarkin said. |
| Mr. Guriev was a rare figure who straddled the worlds of Moscow elites and opposition activists, which seemed to overlap momentarily when anti-Putin protests broke out in late 2011. | Mr. Guriev was a rare figure who straddled the worlds of Moscow elites and opposition activists, which seemed to overlap momentarily when anti-Putin protests broke out in late 2011. |
| Though his wife, herself a prominent economist, moved to France several years ago, Mr. Guriev remained in Russia. He threw his energy into persuading talented, Western-educated Russian academics to return to Russia to teach, said Erik Berglof, chairman of the New Economic School’s international advisory board. “He certainly was someone who believed that Russia could change,” Mr. Berglof said, adding that the board had begun searching for his successor. “He will be greatly missed, but the school existed before Sergei joined and will continue to develop after he has left.” | |
| Mr. Guriev has not offered any details of his interactions with investigators, but one of the other collaborators on the Khodorkovsky report — a team convened by Mr. Medvedev’s human rights council — said investigators nearly picked apart his organization in search of evidence that it had received money from Mr. Khodorkovsky. | Mr. Guriev has not offered any details of his interactions with investigators, but one of the other collaborators on the Khodorkovsky report — a team convened by Mr. Medvedev’s human rights council — said investigators nearly picked apart his organization in search of evidence that it had received money from Mr. Khodorkovsky. |
| Mikhail A. Subbotin, a legal expert, said that beginning in September his accountants and co-workers were questioned for days. To him, the charges seemed so flimsy that the inquiry would swiftly conclude, but he gradually realized otherwise. | |
| “Unfortunately, the system works in such a way that it cannot go into reverse,” he said. “If something doesn’t work out, then the system has to push forward, to be more active, and more aggressive, and put on even stronger pressure. And that’s what is going on right now.” | “Unfortunately, the system works in such a way that it cannot go into reverse,” he said. “If something doesn’t work out, then the system has to push forward, to be more active, and more aggressive, and put on even stronger pressure. And that’s what is going on right now.” |
Andrew Roth contributed reporting. | Andrew Roth contributed reporting. |