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| Secure in Power, Putin Frees Rival, a Jailed Oil Tycoon | Secure in Power, Putin Frees Rival, a Jailed Oil Tycoon |
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| MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin issued a decree on Friday freeing Russia’s most famous prisoner, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the former chief executive of Yukos Oil whose arrest and imprisonment 10 years ago punctuated an authoritarian turn in Russia’s modern history. | MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin issued a decree on Friday freeing Russia’s most famous prisoner, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the former chief executive of Yukos Oil whose arrest and imprisonment 10 years ago punctuated an authoritarian turn in Russia’s modern history. |
| Mr. Putin’s pardon decree — a mere 34 words, citing “humanitarian principles” — brought Mr. Khodorkovsky’s criminal odyssey to an abrupt and thoroughly unexpected end. | Mr. Putin’s pardon decree — a mere 34 words, citing “humanitarian principles” — brought Mr. Khodorkovsky’s criminal odyssey to an abrupt and thoroughly unexpected end. |
| Nataliya V. Bystritskaya, a spokeswoman for Russia’s prison system, said in a telephone interview that Mr. Khodorkovksy had flown to Germany, where his mother has undergone medical treatment, after being issued documents allowing him to leave the country. “We emphasize that the flight took place at his request, and the documents for going abroad were issued at his personal request,” Ms. Bystritskaya’s office said in a statement. | |
| Mr. Khodorkovsky’s mother, Marina, however, said in a telephone interview that while she had sought treatment at a clinic in Berlin, she was currently in Moscow. | |
| Mr. Khodorkovsky had left the prison in the Karelia region by midafternoon, according to Maksim Dbar, a spokesman for his press service. Mr. Khodorkovsky’s lawyer, Vadim Klyuvgant, said he was unaware of the procedures for releasing his client. | |
| Marina Khodorkovsky also said she and her husband had not yet been able to speak with their son, who while in prison was allowed a 15-minute phone call with them on Saturdays. “It’s such an unusual situation that there is no procedure worked out for it, I think,” she said in a telephone interview on the television network Dozhd. “Everything has been done so spontaneously that I can’t say anything at all.” | |
| Mr. Khodorkovsky’s pardon is all the more remarkable because only two weeks ago, Russia’s deputy prosecutor general, Alexander G. Zvyagintsev, told the Interfax news agency that a third criminal case was being prepared against him and others that would “have very good prospects in court.” Vladimir I. Markin, a spokesman for the Investigative Committee, declined on Friday to discuss the investigation or Mr. Putin’s pardon decree. | Mr. Khodorkovsky’s pardon is all the more remarkable because only two weeks ago, Russia’s deputy prosecutor general, Alexander G. Zvyagintsev, told the Interfax news agency that a third criminal case was being prepared against him and others that would “have very good prospects in court.” Vladimir I. Markin, a spokesman for the Investigative Committee, declined on Friday to discuss the investigation or Mr. Putin’s pardon decree. |
| The release of Mr. Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man and an aspiring political rival, represented an unexpected and striking turnabout for Mr. Putin. For a decade, he has shown no signs of sympathy, let alone mercy, as the authorities dismantled Mr. Khodorkovsky’s company and pursued criminal charges that seemed intended to keep him in prison for life. | |
| Mr. Putin, who commands singular political authority here, now appears to have the confidence to risk freeing a man who even in prison has persisted as one of his harshest political critics and who still has the will and financial resources to challenge not only the seizure of his company’s assets but alsoMr. Putin’s power. Mr. Putin may also have an eye to presenting a positive image to the outside world ahead of the Winter Olympics, which start in the Russian city of Sochi on Feb. 7. | |
| Freedom represents a new, if uncertain, chapter for Mr. Khodorkovsky, who plunged from almost unimaginable wealth to a jail cell in the Karelia region near Finland, but still managed to maintain some visibility, including writing opinion articles for various newspapers and keeping a website, mostly detailing his case. With a fortune abroad that he managed to maintain after his arrest, Mr. Khodorkovsky could also have an opportunity to once again become an outspoken public figure, presumably with more caution than in the past. | |
| The release of Mr. Khodorkovsky comes as Mr. Putin has been asserting himself internationally, averting an American-led military strike on Syria and securing Russia’s sway over Ukraine as it was on the verge of moving closer to the European Union. | |
| Mr. Putin acted after the Russian Parliament adopted a sweeping amnesty law that could free several high-profile defendants whose politically charged cases symbolized what critics denounced as the repression of dissent. They include two performers from the punk protest group Pussy Riot and 30 Greenpeace activists who were detained in September after protesting oil exploration in the Arctic. | Mr. Putin acted after the Russian Parliament adopted a sweeping amnesty law that could free several high-profile defendants whose politically charged cases symbolized what critics denounced as the repression of dissent. They include two performers from the punk protest group Pussy Riot and 30 Greenpeace activists who were detained in September after protesting oil exploration in the Arctic. |
| A court here on Thursday dropped charges against four demonstrators accused of being involved in a confrontation with the police after Mr. Putin’s election to another term in 2012. They were the first of perhaps thousands of defendants who stand to benefit from the amnesty. | A court here on Thursday dropped charges against four demonstrators accused of being involved in a confrontation with the police after Mr. Putin’s election to another term in 2012. They were the first of perhaps thousands of defendants who stand to benefit from the amnesty. |
| Mr. Putin proposed the amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of Russia’s Constitution this month — and Parliament dutifully obliged by passing it — but the timing also appeared intended to temper the criticism of Russia’s civil rights record ahead of the Olympics. | Mr. Putin proposed the amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of Russia’s Constitution this month — and Parliament dutifully obliged by passing it — but the timing also appeared intended to temper the criticism of Russia’s civil rights record ahead of the Olympics. |
| “It’s a decision to make our criminal justice policy more humane,” Mr. Putin said on Thursday at a marathon news conference that underscored his absolute political dominance here. | |
| He did not address the question of amnesty for Mr. Khodorkovsky during the news conference but rather in remarks he made to reporters afterward. He said that Mr. Khodorkovsky had appealed for clemency on humanitarian grounds, citing his mother’s declining health, and that a decision to grant him a pardon could come soon. | He did not address the question of amnesty for Mr. Khodorkovsky during the news conference but rather in remarks he made to reporters afterward. He said that Mr. Khodorkovsky had appealed for clemency on humanitarian grounds, citing his mother’s declining health, and that a decision to grant him a pardon could come soon. |
| “He has already spent more than 10 years in confinement — this is a serious punishment,” Mr. Putin said. “His mother is ill, and I think that a decision can be taken, and in the near future a decree on his clemency will be signed.” | “He has already spent more than 10 years in confinement — this is a serious punishment,” Mr. Putin said. “His mother is ill, and I think that a decision can be taken, and in the near future a decree on his clemency will be signed.” |
| The announcement that Mr. Khodorkovsky could soon walk free surprised his lawyers and representatives, and even his mother, who said she had heard nothing of it. “He needs to be released,” she told the Interfax news agency. “His children and even his grandchildren grew up without him.” | |
| Mr. Khodorkovsky, who spent his 50th birthday in June in prison, was one of the businessmen in the new Russia of the 1990s who amassed such staggering fortunes and political influence that they became known as oligarchs. A former member of the Communist Youth League, or Komsomol, Mr. Khodorkovsky seized the opportunity offered by Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s period of perestroika in the twilight of the Soviet era to open a cafe, which soon became a trading company and then a bank. | Mr. Khodorkovsky, who spent his 50th birthday in June in prison, was one of the businessmen in the new Russia of the 1990s who amassed such staggering fortunes and political influence that they became known as oligarchs. A former member of the Communist Youth League, or Komsomol, Mr. Khodorkovsky seized the opportunity offered by Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s period of perestroika in the twilight of the Soviet era to open a cafe, which soon became a trading company and then a bank. |
| In 1995 he acquired the failing oil company that became Yukos, and in the tumultuous, often violent Wild East atmosphere of the era, he steadily expanded the company and his wealth in deals that were widely criticized as shadowy, if not corrupt. By the time Mr. Putin became president on New Year’s Eve in 1999, Mr. Khodorkovsky had emerged as the country’s richest man and sought to commit himself to modern corporate governance and philanthropy. | In 1995 he acquired the failing oil company that became Yukos, and in the tumultuous, often violent Wild East atmosphere of the era, he steadily expanded the company and his wealth in deals that were widely criticized as shadowy, if not corrupt. By the time Mr. Putin became president on New Year’s Eve in 1999, Mr. Khodorkovsky had emerged as the country’s richest man and sought to commit himself to modern corporate governance and philanthropy. |
| Although spared Mr. Putin’s early prosecutorial assaults on oligarchs, Mr. Khodorkovsky’s corporate and political ambitions soon clashed with Mr. Putin’s own consolidation of control. Although there are many theories on Mr. Khodorkovsky’s arrest, most focus on his political contributions in the 2003 parliamentary elections and Mr. Putin’s desire to bring natural resources back into the state’s hands. | Although spared Mr. Putin’s early prosecutorial assaults on oligarchs, Mr. Khodorkovsky’s corporate and political ambitions soon clashed with Mr. Putin’s own consolidation of control. Although there are many theories on Mr. Khodorkovsky’s arrest, most focus on his political contributions in the 2003 parliamentary elections and Mr. Putin’s desire to bring natural resources back into the state’s hands. |
| Mr. Khodorkovsky’s two trials on charges of embezzlement and tax evasion, as well as the absorption of Yukos’s assets into the state oil company, Rosneft, were widely condemned as a vendetta by Mr. Putin against a rival in business and politics. After a second conviction in 2010, Mr. Khodorkovsky and his business partner, Platon A. Lebedev, were declared prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International. | Mr. Khodorkovsky’s two trials on charges of embezzlement and tax evasion, as well as the absorption of Yukos’s assets into the state oil company, Rosneft, were widely condemned as a vendetta by Mr. Putin against a rival in business and politics. After a second conviction in 2010, Mr. Khodorkovsky and his business partner, Platon A. Lebedev, were declared prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International. |
| Prosecutors said that even with the end of their prison terms approaching in 2014, the two could face yet another trial that would keep them behind bars. Mr. Putin discounted that possibility at the news conference, but added that he did not know where the case stood — an assertion of noninterference in judicial matters that his critics dismissed as incredible. | Prosecutors said that even with the end of their prison terms approaching in 2014, the two could face yet another trial that would keep them behind bars. Mr. Putin discounted that possibility at the news conference, but added that he did not know where the case stood — an assertion of noninterference in judicial matters that his critics dismissed as incredible. |
| Mr. Putin’s news conference on Thursday — an annual ritual — lasted more than four hours and displayed a confidence, even buoyancy, that contrasted with last year’s, when he was challenged with pointed questions about his return to the presidency and contentious policies such as a ban on the adoption of Russian orphans by American families. A year ago he also seemed tense and in pain from a lingering back injury. | Mr. Putin’s news conference on Thursday — an annual ritual — lasted more than four hours and displayed a confidence, even buoyancy, that contrasted with last year’s, when he was challenged with pointed questions about his return to the presidency and contentious policies such as a ban on the adoption of Russian orphans by American families. A year ago he also seemed tense and in pain from a lingering back injury. |
| In the past year, Mr. Putin has largely neutered the political opposition and pursued a conservative political course. On Thursday, he was in high spirits and eager to banter with hundreds of reporters gathered in an auditorium of the World Trade Center. | In the past year, Mr. Putin has largely neutered the political opposition and pursued a conservative political course. On Thursday, he was in high spirits and eager to banter with hundreds of reporters gathered in an auditorium of the World Trade Center. |
| He spoke with evident satisfaction about his decision to rescue Ukraine with $15 billion in loans and a sharp discount on natural gas, saying Russia was obliged to help its neighbor. The bailout left European officials stunned and scrambling for a response. | He spoke with evident satisfaction about his decision to rescue Ukraine with $15 billion in loans and a sharp discount on natural gas, saying Russia was obliged to help its neighbor. The bailout left European officials stunned and scrambling for a response. |
| Recently, Mr. Putin has sought to establish Russia as a dominant force to counterbalance the West, particularly the United States. On the decision to grant temporary asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the former contractor for the National Security Agency, he even teased that he was jealous of President Obama’s authority over sweeping intelligence programs. “I envy him,” he said, “because he can do this without incurring any consequences.” | Recently, Mr. Putin has sought to establish Russia as a dominant force to counterbalance the West, particularly the United States. On the decision to grant temporary asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the former contractor for the National Security Agency, he even teased that he was jealous of President Obama’s authority over sweeping intelligence programs. “I envy him,” he said, “because he can do this without incurring any consequences.” |
| He also offered an off-color aside. “Spying has always existed, and it is one of the oldest professions, along with some others that I will not name here.” | He also offered an off-color aside. “Spying has always existed, and it is one of the oldest professions, along with some others that I will not name here.” |
| In just over a month, Mr. Putin will play host to the Olympics in Sochi, and while Russia has portrayed it as an opportunity to showcase the country’s restoration, Mr. Putin’s leadership has faced fierce criticism for its human rights record, including a law banning propaganda on nontraditional relationships that is widely viewed in the West as an effort to suppress homosexuality. | In just over a month, Mr. Putin will play host to the Olympics in Sochi, and while Russia has portrayed it as an opportunity to showcase the country’s restoration, Mr. Putin’s leadership has faced fierce criticism for its human rights record, including a law banning propaganda on nontraditional relationships that is widely viewed in the West as an effort to suppress homosexuality. |
| Mr. Putin said Russia was merely defending its values and traditions, and he suggested that the West was trying to impose its views on others. | Mr. Putin said Russia was merely defending its values and traditions, and he suggested that the West was trying to impose its views on others. |
| “It is not about criticizing somebody,” Mr. Putin said. “It is about protecting us from aggressive behavior on the part of some social groups, which I believe do not just live in a way they like, but they try to aggressively impose their opinion on other people and other countries.” | “It is not about criticizing somebody,” Mr. Putin said. “It is about protecting us from aggressive behavior on the part of some social groups, which I believe do not just live in a way they like, but they try to aggressively impose their opinion on other people and other countries.” |
Andrew Roth and Nikolay Khalip contributed reporting. | Andrew Roth and Nikolay Khalip contributed reporting. |