Khodorkovsky: Russia is Fit for Democracy

Today the Moscow Times has published an opinion article authored by Mikhail Khodorkovsky:

On the chance that somebody has forgotten, I will remind them that Russians have also sacrificed their share of blood at different points in history in defense of these universal rights.

Nobody has the right to say that Russians are genetically unfit for freedom or democracy. Sooner or later, the Russian people will definitely build a true democracy for themselves and their children, whether or not the so-called “realists” from abroad help us or hinder us in the task. Pragmatism, self-interest and a clean conscience are not necessarily mutually exclusive.