Grigory Pasko: Khodorkovsky and the Chimera of Law and Order

In his final words before the court, Mikhail Khodorkovsky stated: “I want for the court in my country to become independent, so we would not leave the traces of totalitarianism as an inheritance for our children and grandchildren. Everybody understands that your verdict is going to become the history of Russia“. Если Вы хотите прочитать оригинал данной статьи на русском языке, нажмите сюда.

Addressing the judge, he added: “Your honour, there is much more than just the fates of two people in your hands. Right here and right now, the fate of a large quantity of people is being decided; those who have built a house, achieved success and do not want this to fall to raiders “. And also: “A person who collides with the system has no rights whatsoever; rights are not even protected by the court”…Good words. Right words. Precise words. Understandable words.I’m looking at Danilkin and thinking: is he hearing these words?Is he understanding their meaning?He, in whose hands right now is not simply a verdict, but a verdict, among others, for himself as well…What ELSE was he being guided by, when even BEFORE the writing of the text of the verdict he has already said that its pronouncement will take place on 15th of December of the year 2010?…Whatever the verdict will be, I believe in the courage of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev….And I do not believe in Danilkin.It will be good if I am wrong…A couple of tender words about the procurator Lakhtin (this is just too entertaining and in his own way tragicomic a personage). On the eve of Khodorkovsky’s last word he said that the assertions of the defence of ex-head of “YUKOS” Mikhail Khodorkovsky and former chief of MFO “Menatep” Platon Lebedev about their innocence are false. “We do not consider, – said Lakhtin, – it necessary to dwell in detail on all the idle talk by the defence and the accuseds, inasmuch as all that has been said is an evident falsehood, and we are confident that the court, retiring to chambers, has satisfied itself of this obvious falsehood”.In Lakhtin’s words, the defendants built their defense on the forming in society of an opinion about the political component of their criminal case, while information about this they disseminated through mass information media under their control.If Lakhtin is not a fool, then who is? He does not consider it necessary to respond to the arguments of the defense and the defendants not because he is so proud and smart, but precisely because there is no response. Neither for him, nor for the whole OPG. And it is interesting to me, from where does Lakhtin have such confidence that Danilkin, merely by retiring to chambers, will be able to “satisfy himself of the obvious falsehood” of the defense? And where is he to satisfy himself of the obvious falsehood of Lakhtin and Co, if he has already had many an opportunity to satisfy himself of this directly in the hall of the court sessions.Naw, Lakhtin is for certain not a smart person, if he says this: the defendants formed an opinion in society through controlled mass information media. And who was stopping Lakhtin and Co from forming their own, putino-karimovo-lakhtinite, opinion through the mass information media under the control of Putin and Sechin? Moreover, if Lakhtin had managed to notice, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are found behind bars, while Lakhtin for now is at liberty. So for whom is it simpler to form opinion? And just what are these “controlled mass information media” not named by lakhtin? “Novaya gazeta”? “Echo Moskvy”? The first, as it seemed to me, is under the control of a former KGB colonel. “Echo Moskvy” – is entirely “Gazprom”‘s, behind which Putin’s shadow always looms.Notice: the mass information media under Putin’s control ( and there are dozens of them, if not hundreds) say almost nothing about the trial – never and under no circumstances. Are they afraid of Lakhtin? Or of embarrassing themselves together with such poor excuses for procurators? (Although it is hard to imagine them doing anything even more embarrassing than what they’re doing already…)And also. Specially for Lakhtin: there is even no need to mold-form a political component in this case – it oozes out of every crevice of this shameful case. And a certain Putin with his mantras along the lines of “hands covered in blood” has intensified this component even more. So some advice for Lakhtin: go to Putin and complain to him about the defendants and the mass information media under their control. Yes, and don’t forget also about the mass information media of all of Europe: they do, judging by everything, are “controlled” by Khodorkovsky.Illustration credit: http://lena-hades.livejournal.com/