Kommersant is carrying two reports on the Mikhail Khodorkovsky charges today. The first article reports that the Investigative Committee has quickly completed a three-day preliminary investigation of the case. The second piece interviews former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who offers his theory of the purpose of these recycled (it is incorrect to call them “new”) charges:

The new charges brought in against Mikhail Khodorkovsky are aimed at preventing the consideration of pardoning him, Russian People’s Democratic Union leader Mikhail Kasyanov made clear in the air of Echo of Moscow radio broadcaster. Kasyanov called new charges the demonstrative humiliation of the legislative system. Meanwhile, “some positive signals” in the Khodorkovsky case could have made applauding the people that “don’t come down to the depth of political process.” But Russia’s leadership will hardly go this far, Kasyanov was sure.