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| Freed Abruptly by Putin, Khodorkovsky Arrives in Germany | |
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| MOSCOW — After 10 years in prison, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the former chairman of Yukos Oil and once Russia’s richest man, walked free from a penal colony in northern Russia on Friday and flew to Berlin on a private jet. It was an abrupt and stunning end to an episode that had marked a darkly authoritarian turn for Russia under President Vladimir V. Putin, while sending a fearsome warning to the rest of the elite, oligarch class. | MOSCOW — After 10 years in prison, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the former chairman of Yukos Oil and once Russia’s richest man, walked free from a penal colony in northern Russia on Friday and flew to Berlin on a private jet. It was an abrupt and stunning end to an episode that had marked a darkly authoritarian turn for Russia under President Vladimir V. Putin, while sending a fearsome warning to the rest of the elite, oligarch class. |
| In a hastily arranged exit, Mr. Khodorkovsky was whisked to Berlin hours after Mr. Putin, in Moscow, signed a 34-word decree pardoning him of his crimes. Slightly more than a decade after his arrest by armed agents on an airport tarmac in Siberia, Mr. Khodorkovsky emerged into freedom on another airfield, smiling tightly as a former German foreign minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, greeted him and clasped his hand. | In a hastily arranged exit, Mr. Khodorkovsky was whisked to Berlin hours after Mr. Putin, in Moscow, signed a 34-word decree pardoning him of his crimes. Slightly more than a decade after his arrest by armed agents on an airport tarmac in Siberia, Mr. Khodorkovsky emerged into freedom on another airfield, smiling tightly as a former German foreign minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, greeted him and clasped his hand. |
| Yevgenia Albats, the editor of The New Times, a Moscow magazine, and a friend of Mr. Khodorkovsky’s, posted a message on Facebook that said she had spoken with him by telephone and described him as “completely zonked and happy.” “Ten years, 10 years,” she quoted him as saying. “And here is freedom.” | Yevgenia Albats, the editor of The New Times, a Moscow magazine, and a friend of Mr. Khodorkovsky’s, posted a message on Facebook that said she had spoken with him by telephone and described him as “completely zonked and happy.” “Ten years, 10 years,” she quoted him as saying. “And here is freedom.” |
| In a statement on his website, Mr. Khodorkovsky said he had applied for a pardon more than a month ago, on Nov. 12, and that he was “happy for a favorable decision.” | In a statement on his website, Mr. Khodorkovsky said he had applied for a pardon more than a month ago, on Nov. 12, and that he was “happy for a favorable decision.” |
| The circumstances of his release, however, were as opaque as those of his arrest in 2003. It was not clear why he had not told his lawyers and family of the application, leaving them as surprised as anyone when Mr. Putin announced on Thursday that clemency was imminent. | The circumstances of his release, however, were as opaque as those of his arrest in 2003. It was not clear why he had not told his lawyers and family of the application, leaving them as surprised as anyone when Mr. Putin announced on Thursday that clemency was imminent. |
| It was also not clear why Mr. Putin had chosen this moment to release Mr. Khodorkovsky, an aspiring political rival and a source of headaches for years for Mr. Putin. While serving time in prison for embezzlement, Mr. Khodorkovsky emerged as a powerful dissident voice, criticizing Mr. Putin’s consolidation of authority in the Kremlin and heavy-handed efforts to suppress dissent. | It was also not clear why Mr. Putin had chosen this moment to release Mr. Khodorkovsky, an aspiring political rival and a source of headaches for years for Mr. Putin. While serving time in prison for embezzlement, Mr. Khodorkovsky emerged as a powerful dissident voice, criticizing Mr. Putin’s consolidation of authority in the Kremlin and heavy-handed efforts to suppress dissent. |
| In his statement, Mr. Khodorkovsky added a hint of defiance that suggested his role as a critic was not yet done. | In his statement, Mr. Khodorkovsky added a hint of defiance that suggested his role as a critic was not yet done. |
| “The question of my admitting guilt was not raised,” he said. At the same time, “I would like to thank everyone who followed the Yukos case for all these years and for the support which you gave to me, my family and all those who were unfairly convicted and continue to be persecuted.” | “The question of my admitting guilt was not raised,” he said. At the same time, “I would like to thank everyone who followed the Yukos case for all these years and for the support which you gave to me, my family and all those who were unfairly convicted and continue to be persecuted.” |
| And he added: “I greatly await the minute when I can hug those close to me and personally shake the hands of my friends and colleagues. I constantly think about those who are still in prison.” | And he added: “I greatly await the minute when I can hug those close to me and personally shake the hands of my friends and colleagues. I constantly think about those who are still in prison.” |
| Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters on Friday evening that the Kremlin had no role in Mr. Khodorkovsky’s departure to Germany, that travel documents had been prepared at his request and that he was free to return to Russia anytime. | Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters on Friday evening that the Kremlin had no role in Mr. Khodorkovsky’s departure to Germany, that travel documents had been prepared at his request and that he was free to return to Russia anytime. |
| “A citizen of the Russian Federation cannot be banned from returning to Russia,” Mr. Peskov said. “I don’t know why he went to Germany, but it was absolutely his personal decision. No one dictates to him. If he wants, he can stay here. If he wants, he can fly to Germany. It’s absolutely his decision.” | “A citizen of the Russian Federation cannot be banned from returning to Russia,” Mr. Peskov said. “I don’t know why he went to Germany, but it was absolutely his personal decision. No one dictates to him. If he wants, he can stay here. If he wants, he can fly to Germany. It’s absolutely his decision.” |
| Mr. Peskov said Mr. Khodorkovsky had sent the president two letters, one personal and the other a formal request for a pardon. He specifically asked for permission to fly to Germany, Mr. Peskov said. | Mr. Peskov said Mr. Khodorkovsky had sent the president two letters, one personal and the other a formal request for a pardon. He specifically asked for permission to fly to Germany, Mr. Peskov said. |
| Western governments hailed Mr. Khodorkovsky’s release. In Washington, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Caitlin M. Hayden, said: “The United States welcomes the pardons of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other Russian citizens. For many years, we have voiced our concerns about politically motivated investigations and selective prosecutions in Russia, including in Khodorkovsky’s case. Today’s humanitarian gesture is a positive development for Russian society, but we continue to be deeply troubled by selective justice in Russia.” | Western governments hailed Mr. Khodorkovsky’s release. In Washington, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Caitlin M. Hayden, said: “The United States welcomes the pardons of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other Russian citizens. For many years, we have voiced our concerns about politically motivated investigations and selective prosecutions in Russia, including in Khodorkovsky’s case. Today’s humanitarian gesture is a positive development for Russian society, but we continue to be deeply troubled by selective justice in Russia.” |
| Mr. Genscher, the former foreign minister of Germany, who said he had worked for years behind the scenes to help secure Mr. Khodorkovsky’s release, arranged for his travel on a private jet. Although the German Embassy in Moscow helped expedite his travel documents, officials said, Mr. Khodorkovsky arrived as a private citizen. He had been held most recently in a prison colony in the Karelia region of northwestern Russia, near Finland. | Mr. Genscher, the former foreign minister of Germany, who said he had worked for years behind the scenes to help secure Mr. Khodorkovsky’s release, arranged for his travel on a private jet. Although the German Embassy in Moscow helped expedite his travel documents, officials said, Mr. Khodorkovsky arrived as a private citizen. He had been held most recently in a prison colony in the Karelia region of northwestern Russia, near Finland. |
| Nataliya V. Bystritskaya, a spokeswoman for the Russian prison system, said in a telephone interview that Mr. Khodorkovsky had flown to Germany to see his mother, who has been receiving medical treatment there. But his mother, Marina, said that while she had sought treatment at a clinic in Berlin, she was now in Moscow. Mr. Khodorkovsky has a son, Pavel, who lives in the United States. | Nataliya V. Bystritskaya, a spokeswoman for the Russian prison system, said in a telephone interview that Mr. Khodorkovsky had flown to Germany to see his mother, who has been receiving medical treatment there. But his mother, Marina, said that while she had sought treatment at a clinic in Berlin, she was now in Moscow. Mr. Khodorkovsky has a son, Pavel, who lives in the United States. |
| Marina Khodorkovsky also said she and her husband had not yet spoken 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 Russian television network Dozhd. “Everything has been done so spontaneously that I can’t say anything at all.” | Marina Khodorkovsky also said she and her husband had not yet spoken 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 Russian television network Dozhd. “Everything has been done so spontaneously that I can’t say anything at all.” |
| In an interview with the German public station ARD, Mr. Genscher said that Mr. Khodorkovsky was doing well and that his focus was on seeing his family soon. But he said they had not discussed his plans during the brief ride from the airport. | In an interview with the German public station ARD, Mr. Genscher said that Mr. Khodorkovsky was doing well and that his focus was on seeing his family soon. But he said they had not discussed his plans during the brief ride from the airport. |
| Mr. Khodorkovsky’s pardon is all the more remarkable because only two weeks ago Russia’s deputy prosecutor general, Aleksandr G. Zvyagintsev, told the Interfax news agency that a third criminal case was being prepared against him and others. | Mr. Khodorkovsky’s pardon is all the more remarkable because only two weeks ago Russia’s deputy prosecutor general, Aleksandr G. Zvyagintsev, told the Interfax news agency that a third criminal case was being prepared against him and others. |
| Mr. Putin, however, said during his annual news conference on Thursday that he thought a third case was unlikely. Then, in an aside to reporters as he left the auditorium, he said he would soon issue a pardon. | Mr. Putin, however, said during his annual news conference on Thursday that he thought a third case was unlikely. Then, in an aside to reporters as he left the auditorium, he said he would soon issue a pardon. |
Reporting was contributed by Melissa Eddy from Berlin; Andrew Roth, Nikolay Khalip and Viktor Klimenko from Moscow; and Michael D. Shear from Washington. | Reporting was contributed by Melissa Eddy from Berlin; Andrew Roth, Nikolay Khalip and Viktor Klimenko from Moscow; and Michael D. Shear from Washington. |
| This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: December 20, 2013 | Correction: December 20, 2013 |
An earlier version of this article misstated the location of the Karelia region of Russia. It is near Finland, not Sweden. | An earlier version of this article misstated the location of the Karelia region of Russia. It is near Finland, not Sweden. |