The following is a translation from the French newspaper Le Monde:

Le Monde, Editorial February 8, 2008 Putin’s Vindictiveness The vindictiveness of Vladimir Putin knows no bounds. In 2005, he went after Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of the Yeltsin era’s main oligarchs and the richest man in Russia at that time who had wanted to go into politics. It was all too easy for the Russian president to eliminate a potential rival by accusing him of tax fraud. The accusation could have been convincing if it had not served as a pretext for a settling of scores. But it was not enough for President Putin and his supporters to push Yukos’ President aside after seizing his company, one of the world’s oil giants, in order to favour others closer to the government. An 8 year jail sentence in a camp in Siberia must have seemed too light of a condemnation. Mikhail Khodokorvsky is now prosecuted for money laundering. Once more, he risks a 22 year prison sentence.