Russia Charges Exiled Oligarch Khodorkovsky With Terrorism
A Kremlin crackdown intensifies against vocal opponents of the Ukraine war.
Russia's Federal Security Service has launched a criminal investigation against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled former oil tycoon, accusing him of forming a terrorist organization and conspiring to overthrow the government by force.
The charges, announced on Tuesday, target Khodorkovsky's support for groups opposing Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, marking him as the latest in a series of critics facing prosecution.
The FSB also implicated over 20 other individuals in the case, including prominent dissidents Vladimir Kara-Murza, Garry Kasparov, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, and economists Sergei Aleksashenko and Sergei Guriev.
This development follows closely on the heels of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe establishing a dialogue platform with Russian exiles, an initiative the FSB claims Khodorkovsky is using to position himself as an alternative leader.
The agency further alleged that Khodorkovsky funded Ukrainian paramilitary units with the intent of deploying them against Russian authorities.
Once Russia's wealthiest man, Khodorkovsky built his fortune in the chaotic privatization era of the 1990s, emerging as a key backer of President Boris Yeltsin.
His ascent unraveled under Vladimir Putin, who consolidated control over independent business elites.
Arrested in 2003, Khodorkovsky endured a decade in a Siberian prison on fraud convictions widely viewed as retaliation for his political ambitions.
Pardoned in 2013 on condition of abstaining from politics, he relocated abroad but has since emerged as a fierce advocate for Ukraine and democratic reforms in Russia.
Designated a foreign agent shortly after the 2022 invasion, Khodorkovsky has described his homeland as a totalitarian state, vowing to champion rule of law and pluralism.
In December, a Moscow court fined him for administrative breaches, underscoring ongoing efforts to curb his influence
Escalating Repression and Exile Dynamics
The accusations encompass the full roster of the Russian Anti-War Committee, a banned entity dedicated to ending the Ukraine conflict, which recently pledged engagement with the Council of Europe forum.
Russia's exit from the organization in 2022, amid threats of expulsion over the war, highlights deepening international isolation.
Post-invasion laws criminalizing military discreditation have ensnared numerous opponents, from artists like Sasha Skochilenko — sentenced to seven years in 2024 for antiwar supermarket tags — to high-profile exiles.
While the charges pose little immediate risk to those abroad, they reinforce Moscow's strategy of branding critics as national security threats.
Khodorkovsky dismissed the claims on Telegram, labeling them a panicked response to the European initiative and fabrications about arming Ukrainian forces.