Mikhail Khodorkovsky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
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| Михаил Ходорковский | |
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Khodorkovsky in 2015
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| Born | 26 June 1963 |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Alma mater | Mendeleev Russian University of Chemistry and Technology |
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| Children | Pavel, Anastasia, Ilya, Gleb |
Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (Russian: Михаил Борисович Ходорковский, IPA: [mʲɪxɐˈil xədɐrˈkofskʲɪj]; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman, oligarch, and opposition activist, now residing in London. In 2003, Khodorkovsky was believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia, with a fortune estimated to be worth $15 billion, and was ranked 16th on Forbes list of billionaires.
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Early life and education
Khodorkovsky was born on 26 June 1963 in Moscow. His parents, Boris and Marina Khodorkovsky, were engineers at a factory making measuring instruments in Moscow. Khodorkovsky's father was Jewish, and his mother was Russian Orthodox (Christian). The family were moderately well off. The young Khodorkovsky was ambitious and received excellent grades. He became deputy head of Komsomol (the Communist Youth League) at his university, the D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, from which he graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in 1986.
Business career
After his graduation in 1986, Khodorkovsky began to work full-time for the Komsomol, working his way up the Komsomol apparatus. He started several businesses during the period of glasnost and perestroika in the late 1980s. In 1987, Khodorkovsky and his partners opened a Center for Scientific and Technical Creativity of the Youth. In addition to importing and reselling computers, the center was involved in trading a wide range of other products. The opening of the center eventually made possible the founding of Bank Menatep, in 1989. As one of Russia's first privately owned banks, Menatep expanded quickly. The government granted Bank Menatep the right to manage funds allocated for the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in the mid-1990s, Khodorkovsky accumulated considerable wealth by obtaining control of a number of Siberian oil fields unified under the name Yukos, one of the major companies to emerge from the privatization of state assets during the 1990s (a scheme known as "Loans for Shares"). Khodorkovsky also served as an economic adviser to the first government of Boris Yeltsin.
Imprisonment, pardon and exile
In October 2003, Khodorkovsky was arrested by Russian authorities and charged with fraud. The government under Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, then froze shares of Yukos shortly thereafter on tax charges. Putin's government took further actions against Yukos, leading to a collapse of the company's share price and the evaporation of much of Khodorkovsky's wealth. In May 2005, Khodorkovsky was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison. In December 2010, while he was still serving his sentence, Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were further charged with and found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering. Khodorkovsky's prison sentence was extended to 2014. After Hans-Dietrich Genscher lobbied for his release, Putin pardoned Khodorkovsky, releasing him from jail on 20 December 2013.
There was widespread concern internationally that the trials and sentencing were politically motivated. The trial was criticized abroad for the lack of due process. Khodorkovsky lodged several applications with the European Court of Human Rights, seeking redress for alleged violations by Russia of his human rights. In response to his first application, which concerned events from 2003 to 2005, the court found that several violations were committed by the Russian authorities in their treatment of Khodorkovsky. Despite these findings, the court ultimately ruled that the trial was not politically motivated, but rather "that the charges against him were grounded in 'reasonable suspicion'". He was considered to be a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
On being pardoned by Putin and released from prison at the end of 2013, Khodorkovsky immediately left Russia and was granted residency in Switzerland. At the end of 2013, his personal estate was believed to be worth, as a rough estimate, $100–250 million. At the end of 2014, he was said to be worth about $500 million. In 2015, he moved to London. In December 2016, the Dublin District Court unfroze $100m of Khodorkovsky's assets that had been held in the Republic of Ireland.
Politics
In 2001, Khodorkovsky founded Open Russia, a reform-minded organization intending to "build and strengthen civil society" in the country.
On 20 September 2014, Khodorkovsky officially relaunched the Open Russia movement, with a live teleconference broadcast featuring groups of civil society activists and pro-democracy opposition in Kaliningrad, St Petersburg, Voronezh and Ekaterinburg, among others.
In October 2014, Khodorkovsky visited the U.S., delivering the keynote address at a Washington, D.C., meeting of Freedom House and giving a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
A 3 October 2014, article in the Wall Street Journal stated that Khodorkovsky planned "to bring about a constitutional conference that would shift power away from the Russian presidency and toward the legislature and judiciary."
In September 2016, Khodorkovsky launched an "Instead of Putin" website where visitors can vote for alternatives to Putin.
On 20 May 2022, Khodorkovsky was designated as 'foreign agent' by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.
Personal life
While in college, Khodorkovsky married a fellow student, Yelena. The couple have a son, Pavel. Although Khodorkovsky and Yelena later divorced, they remained on good terms, and she would take an active part in the campaign for his release from prison.
Khodorkovsky also has a daugher and two sons from his relationship with Inna, a student at the Mendeleev Institute who was a colleague of Khodorkovsky's at the Komsomol organization.
Philanthropy
Khodorkhovsky has been involved in various philanthropic endeavours since the beginning of the 21st century:
- Open Russia Foundation
- Khodorkovsky Foundation
- its subsidiary the Oxford Russia Fund
- the London-based Future of Russia Foundation or the Future of Russia Trust
- and the organization European Choice ("европейский выбор")
See also
In Spanish: Mijaíl Jodorkovski para niños
