Talk:Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Translation of various in paragraph: "On 13 April 2006, Khodorkovsky was attacked by a prison mate while he was asleep."...
Does anyone else think the word "mate" should be changed to "inmate"? Instead of saying he was attacked by a "prison mate", I think it would be more accurate to say "prison inmate". "Mate" makes it sound like the guy's a close friend, because "mate" is British slang for "friend", pal" or "buddy".Sdsures (talk) 17:01, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

I don't know the first thing about this incident, but for the edification of the above writer it might be helpful for the author of the original text to please clarify if the attacker might have been Khodorovsly's "cellmate" or just some other inmate of the same prison. Dick Kimball (talk) 00:31, 12 September 2011 (UTC)

Enforce attribution mandate
For example, the sentence stating that government figures made allegations against K., but in the word of the article "These assertions were false" - BUT asserted without sourcing. Also the lack of analysis of how K. became a big wheel in the Russia of the 90's is rather obvious omission - something should be done about balance in the article, or we should have conclude that K. is a Mahatma Gandhi or a Martin Luther King. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.97.65.8 (talk) 21:50, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

BNE article
Where did Khordokorvsky get capitalization for Menatap? The article doesn't address this aspect of his history. Could Menatap have simply been an investment vehicle for Rothschild? CarolSeerCarolSeer (talk) 18:26, 31 August 2015 (UTC)

Here's an article on Khodorkovsky which accuses him of cheating Kenneth Dart, the largest minority investor of Yukos, out of $100 million.

http://www.bne.eu/story2271

Business New Europe

Khodorkovsky - the making of a myth

Ben Aris in Moscow September 6, 2010 Nbauman (talk) 15:00, 28 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Money laundering, murder, destruction of evidence. This guy has been no angel at any stage of his career. It's bewildering that the US state department came out and scolded the Kremlin for a "politically motivated" prosecution. Somewhere there is a US business interest being served. As the wikileaks cables revealed, the state department has been involved in other high-level diplomatic maneuvers on behalf of US business interests in Russia. The article would benefit from including an analysis of who is actually pulling the strings in this particular case. --MoonLichen (talk) 11:09, 29 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Should I remind you about WP:LIBEL? Artem Karimov (talk) 16:30, 30 December 2010 (UTC)
 * This site does not look like a reliable source. Artem Karimov (talk) 16:36, 30 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I'll kindly point out that it is not libel to call someone a criminal who has been convicted as such. Ben Aris is a reputable, internationally syndicated journalist who has been a foreign correspondent in Eastern Europe for nearly 20 years. He wrote for The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and is a contributor to The Wall Street Journal. He is an authority on the region and as reliable a journalist as any on this topic. --MoonLichen (talk) 05:01, 2 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Please kindly read WP:RS. Only information published by reliable sources is admissible, regardless of who wrote it. Also, since this person, a convicted criminal, has not been charged or convicted of murder etc, this is cannot be mentioned. - BorisG (talk) 05:43, 2 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Why doesn't BNE http://www.bne.eu/storyf792 meet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:RS#News_organizations? --Nbauman (talk) 04:54, 11 January 2011 (UTC)


 * It does meet reliable sources, and there is a lot of content attributed to Khodorovsky's lawers that doesn't, and should be removed.93.96.148.42 (talk) 18:15, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Why archive a fairly short discussion?
The discussion to this article isn't particularly long. Why was it archived? Arguably the tiny archive link will not be found by users less familiar with Wikipedia. With a neutrality tag, I think all the discussion about the article should be easily visible. 71.175.4.207 (talk) 20:41, 30 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Because it is almost 2 years old. It is done automatically. - BorisG (talk) 16:46, 31 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the info. The neutrality tag is now two years old as well as the citations tag. It would seem those matters were resolved given no discussion in considerable time. Should not the tags then be removed? 71.175.4.207 (talk) 17:08, 31 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I have no idea whether they have been addressed. In my view, the article is not in good shape; there is nothing about the rise of Yukos etc. Most of the article talks about the criminal case. Just like Moshe Katsav (convicted same day as Khodorkovsky). This is a decease of Wikipedia. News senstations make disproportional place. - BorisG (talk) 17:26, 31 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Sorry, but it is all about reliable sources. The more RS the more info. Artem Karimov (talk) 22:04, 31 December 2010 (UTC)
 * There are litterally thousands of reliable sources on K. But nobody cares about them until there is a spike in the media. This number game is ridiculous. It does not exist in any print encyclopedia. - BorisG (talk) 06:28, 2 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Find them! Artem Karimov (talk) 15:30, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

January 2011 interview From MK's Moscow prison
"…a dependent court is in no way better than a bandit’s club", commented Mikhail Khodorkovsky in response to written questions submitted to him on December 31, 2010, after the second trial. "Both tools are equally unacceptable for settling grievances in a civilized society." Khodorkovsky’s lawyers "invited four newspapers, including the IHT, to submit written questions to him after the second trial. The questions were given to him on Dec. 31, and the replies were delivered" in late January 2011. Excerpts from the questions and answers can be read in A Prisoner in Russia, with background added by Andrew E. Kramer: Comments by Imprisoned Russian Tycoon Challenge Medvedev. Asteriks (talk) 01:21, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Convicted criminal in lede, before former oligarch
It is more important that he is a convicted criminal. he is no longer an oligarch.93.96.148.42 (talk) 18:06, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Neutrality
This article is currently biased in favour of the subject. There is some material supporting the other point of view, but it does not give an accurate representation of the facts, and relies on unreliable sources that favour the criminal.93.96.148.42 (talk) 18:18, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

I question both the neutrality and the purpose of this article. Neutrality: The article takes a significantly biased view of the happenings behind Yukos and Mikhail Khodorkovsky. If the purpose of the article is the discussion of his trail, then this article should be re-titled as such. If instead this article is about Mikhail Khodorkovsky himself, then it is lacking significant detail. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.245.59.16 (talk) 16:27, 15 August 2011 (UTC)


 * This article ignores entirely the most interesting aspect of MK's rise, which is how he obtained Yukos. Other than mentioning that he got it for $300m (as if that sort of money was available readily at that time, and as if such opportunities were open to all), this crucial period is entirely glossed over.  Or, I should think that reliable primary sources on that ought to exist particularly to those who fashion themselves as experts in the personality and life of MK.  Without this crucial bit, it is difficult to form a balanced view about MK's downfall and subsequent travails.
 * muresan (talk) 18:38, 19 January 2012 (UTC)


 * I disagree - just look at Merger with Sibneft section - it is definitely biased, but not in Khodorkovsky's favor (though might have been added after your comment).Cosainsé (talk) 17:48, 8 October 2013 (UTC)

Categorization of political prisoners as "criminals"
The categorization of a person widely perceived in the democratic world to be a political prisoner as a "criminal" appears to violate neutrality. Tataral (talk) 08:08, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

You might know he was very big with his gangster oligarch friends in the 90s and the "democratic west" applauded him and his plundering and impoverishing of russian people. Before he could sell his control over Yukos to western oligarch friend Rothschild Putin stopped the criminal. You seem to believe the divide between the "democratic west" and the rest of the world was any meaningful and base your assumption on this. Goldman Sachs buys the president in the USA look it up at opensecrets DOT org. Heads of state in Italy and Greece were recently appointed without democratic vote, as was the Lisbon Treaty. Screw your "democratic" fairytale. It is getting obvious and this case of criminal is providing much of starting points for interested minds, as for example why it is not in the article where the oligarch got his millions and connection for aquiring Yukos in the first place85.180.221.92 (talk) 00:00, 20 February 2012 (UTC).
 * Erm, enough of the ranting. Russia has no functioning judiciary, so "criminal" gets close to meaningless in some cases - like this one. "Convicted of a crime" is more neutral I guess.Malick78 (talk) 22:26, 20 February 2012 (UTC)

Please be aware of NPOV
Several weeks ago I arrived at this article to do some surgery on the introduction. It was totally bloated and full of unimportant details, such as chronologies, geographical coordinates, etc., that were unnecessary. But also there was a lot of political commentary - speculation about his relationship with Putin, for example, and his status as a 'political prisoner'. I abide by WP:NPOV when I say that we should report only the facts, and only the relevant facts, and we should be especially aware of this in the introduction. Therefore I propose that we keep the length of the intro to below four paragraphs and consolidate overlapping content wherever possible. This is the reason I removed the most recent revisions by user Rights4Russia. Colipon+ (Talk) 18:25, 9 March 2012 (UTC)


 * Hi, I believe the edits I recently made to this article's introduction were exclusively designed to correct factual mistakes. As such, I would like to explain these edits in more detail. WP:NPOV should and will be respected, but it should not be used as a blank check to erase corrected inaccuracies. There is no doubt the subject is controversial, but there are also several critical aspects of his biography that are either misunderstood or ignored. Far from political commentary, including these details provides nuance and clarity.


 * PARAGRAPH 1 ERROR: Khodorkovsky "is" a Russian oligarch. CORRECTION: Khodorkovsky "is a former" Russian oligarch.


 * PARAGRAPH 2: ERROR: "Khodorkovsky worked his way up the Communist apparatus" CORRECTION: "Khodorkovsky developed relations with members of the Communist apparatus" EXPLANATION: The "Soviet years" ended in 1991; Khodorkovsky's student involvement in Communist youth clubs in his 20s cannot be portrayed as "working his way up the Communist apparatus during the Soviet years"; he was simply not a part of the "apparatus" at that time, and certainly not a Communist state official as the current wording suggests.


 * PARAGRAPH 3: ERROR: "He was arrested in October 2003 on charges of fraud." CORRECTION: "He was arrested on October 25, 2003 to appear before investigators as a witness, but within hours of being taken into custody he was charged with fraud" or "He was arrested on October 25, 2003 to appear before investigators as a witness, but rather than being released after questioning, that same day he was charged with fraud."EXPLANATION: He was NOT arrested on charges of fraud; he was arrested to compel him to return to Moscow ostensibly as a witness in another case. Then the authorities used the fact that they had nabbed him as a witness to charge him as a defendant. In 2011 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Khodorkovsky's arrest was "unlawful as it had been made with a purpose different from the one expressed." See http://www.scribd.com/RussianEconomicFreedom/d/57044420-ECHR-Press-Release-Khodorkovsky-v-Russia.


 * PARAGRAPH 4 ERROR: "Khodorkovsky unsuccessfully appealed his convictions to the European Court of Human Rights" CORRECTION: "Khodorkovsky has lodged several applications to the European Court of Human Rights, seeking redress for alleged violations by Russia of his human rights. In response to his first application, which concerned events from 2003 to 2005, the court found that several violations were committed by the Russian authorities in their treatment of Khodorkovsky." EXPLANATION: To date, the European Court of Human Rights has not dealt with either of Khodorkovsky's two guilty verdicts, so it is inaccurate to say that he "unsuccessfully appealed his convictions". On the contrary, Khodorkovsky's fight at the European Court of Human Rights is only now getting started. The first application, ruled on in May 2011, was lodged by Khodorkovsky in February 2004, even before his first conviction in 2005. See http://www.rferl.org/content/european_court_rules_khodorkovskys_rights_violated/24210627.html. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rights4russia (talk • contribs) 18:10, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

edits to the "early years" section
The following explains changes I am about to make to the "early years" section of Khodorkovsky's entry. These changes reflect editorial and biographical misrepresentations and inaccuracies.

MISREPRESENTATION: "He then attempted and succeeded in building a career as a communist functionary." EXPLANATION: Khodorkovsky was not a communist "functionary"; his involvement in a political youth group at university cannot be characterized as a "career as a communist functionary". On the contrary, he was just a politically-active youth with business ideas and an entrepreneurial streak. His later government appointments were after the breakup of the Soviet Union and were not communist party appointments. CORRECTION: To fix this, the sentence should be deleted, and then in the last sentence of the same paragraph, the word "career" should be changed to "involvement", as follows: "The Komsomol involvement was one of the ways to get into the ranks of communist apparatchiks and to achieve the highest possible living standard."

MISREPRESENTATION: "He acquired Yukos for $300 million." CORRECTION: "In 1995, he acquired Yukos, which had debts exceeding $3.5 billion, for an estimated $300 million." OR "In 1995, he acquired the near-bankrupt Yukos, which had debts exceeding $3.5 billion, for an estimated $300 million." EXPLANATION: It is not quite accurate to write just that Yukos was acquired for $300 million. The purchase price (which has been estimated lower and higher than $300 million) must be considered against the fact that the company at the time was near bankruptcy and had huge debts ($3.5 billion). So to be objective, the purchase price should be stated with a reference to the company's debts. Otherwise the $300 million does not mean much and actually misrepresents the value of what was acquired in 1995. Also, the year (1995) should be included, as in the proposed corrected versions above.

INACCURACY: "Armed with cash from his business operations, Khodorkovsky and his partners used their international connections to obtain a banking licence to create Bank Menatep in 1989" CORRECTION: "Khodorkovsky and his partners obtained a banking license to create Bank Menatep in 1989." EXPLANATION: International connections would not help to obtain a Soviet banking license in 1989: Soviet bureaucratic connections wold be determinative, not foreign connections. There is no proof of how much "cash" Khodorkovsky put into Menatep (Was it his cash? Other people's cash? Impossible to know.) The text as currently written confuses Khodorkovsky's personal wealth with wealth that he may have been accumulating in corporate entities. So it is much more objective simply to state: "Khodorkovsky and his partners obtained a banking license to create Bank Menatep in 1989."

INACCURACY: "Bank Menatep was also successful in forcing the government to award them the right to manage funds allocated for the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident." EXPLANATION: Without any back-up (footnote), this is too strong a statement to make ("forcing the government"). I have looked for proof and have been unable to find any. So the sentence should either be made value-neutral (by dropping the word "forcing"), or it should be just deleted altogether (since the article is very long anyway). CORRECTION: Option 1: "The government granted Bank Menatep the right to manage funds allocated for the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident." Option 2: Delete the sentence.

REDUNDANCY: "Khodorkovsky's connections with Komsomol and CPSU structures would prove critical in his success." EXPLANATION: This is redundant because it repeats what is said above under "Early life". RECOMMENDATION: Delete the sentence. Rights4russia (talk) 19:52, 23 March 2012 (UTC)


 * Your suggestions seem fair. Go ahead. Malick78 (talk) 20:58, 23 March 2012 (UTC)

Unsourced information
I don't know much detail about Khodorkovsky and thus don't have strong opinions about the man, but I'd urge all editors involved to make sure additions to the article are clearly sourced. For example, a sentence like "Khodorkovsky's connections with Komsomol and CPSU structures would prove critical in his success" appears inappropriate to me without a reliable source or two to back it up; since this is a slightly interpretative claim, it's probably to attribute it to a specific source within the text as well: "According to Russian business writer xxxxxx, MK... ". Just to be clear, I don't object to any of this information appearing in the article if such reliable sources exist; but my understanding of WP:BLP is that it mandates that those reliable sources be found. Thanks to all those continuing to work on this controversial case, Khazar2 (talk) 16:10, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

NPOV Merger with Sibneft
Merger with Sibneft section is a summary of one article, which is not even cited, and comes off as incredibly biased. Remove/rewrite section suggestions? Cosainsé (talk) 17:51, 8 October 2013 (UTC)
 * ãgreed. no suggestions tho at this time, Cosainsé. cheers tho.  Azx2  16:52, 21 December 2013 (UTC)

Jew
Any reliable sources that his father is Jewish and is religious Jew (His father is Jewish and his mother is Christian)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lola Rennt (talk • contribs) 18:47, 20 December 2013 (UTC)

Sibneft Merger Section Biased?
The information seems to be based entirely on information from one source and article (Wolosky) basically implicating Khodorkovsky in a number of significant crimes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.19.26.54 (talk) 12:25, 21 December 2013 (UTC)

I recommend someone interested in the section or Wolosky's argument to re-edit to include the opposing side, personally Wolosky's article does not strike me as sufficiently credible encyclopedia material, unless supported by other sources, and if the later is not the case, ought to be deleted. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.19.26.54 (talk) 12:37, 21 December 2013 (UTC)
 * agreed.  Azx2  16:50, 21 December 2013 (UTC)

Half of this article is based on Masha Gessen's interpretation of events. Wolosky is a reliable source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.58.19.48 (talk) 19:05, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Discrepancy within the article
He was arrested in 2003 --"He was arrested on 25 October 2003, to appear before investigators as a witness, but within hours of being taken into custody he was charged with fraud. The government under Vladimir Putin then froze shares of Yukos shortly thereafter on tax charges." then how can the following statement is true? "in 2004, Khodorkovsky was the wealthiest man in Russia and one of the richest people in the world, ranked 16th on Forbes list of billionaires." All his wealth was gone in 2003 so how could he be the wealthiest man in Russia in 2004? This doesn't make any sense. I think this should be fixed.97.116.168.195 (talk) 10:27, 22 December 2013 (UTC)

Acquisition of Yukos distorted
"In 1995 Menatep acquired a major Russian oil producer, Yukos, which had debts exceeding $3.5 billion, for $300 million.[14][15] Some authors (e.g. the French commentator Jacques Sapir) attribute the relative low price of the purchase to the shadow arrangements with the Yeltsin government.[16]"

The second sentence completely ignores the reality. What it passes off as "shadow arrangements" are well known. In the mid-1990s the Yeltsin government engaged in the so-called "loans for shares" scandal. The government borrowed money from "oligarchs" and put up the country's productive capacity as collateral, all with the intention of defaulting on the loans and thus transferring the public's property (state ownership) to the oligarchs at frivolous prices. THAT's how Menatep got Yukos.

The whole story of Khodorkovsky is distorted as the article currently stands.
 * I had known the communist system and had been intrigued how someone could have "bought" such a company as Yukos. I asked an elderly Russian couple, who seemed to be really pro-Khodorkovsky, through an interpreter in the most innocent voice 'well, where did he get that money from?' Answer: "From the Red Army", which left me speechless and I didn't go any further like 'was the Red Army a bank at the time?' Someone in the energy industry then said that Khdorkovsky had prepared to sell the gas interests to Exxon, confirmed by participants later in a docu. I did hear also that the Red Army can be hired to protect cash transports. Another Russian told me that the BT money lost in Russia, which bankrupted the company, was really the money that was used by Khodorkovsky to aquire Yukos. And some of that BT money (coming in through the IMF) really came from Enron. When Khordorkovsky was prevented to sell Yukos to the 'rightful' owners, that's when the situation between the US and Russia started to deteriorate. Now we understand that winding road of money, follow the money: BT/Enron money to IMF, to Red Army, to Khodorkovsky, loans,   Yukos becomes Khodorkovsky's 'property' and when he could not fulfill his part of the deal, Russia began to be punished. Follow the money. I think that's a possible explanation/clarification. Ally Hauptmann-Gurski 121.209.56.9 (talk) 05:02, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Some of his relatives live in Ukraine
Yesterday Khodorkovsky stated "Some of my relatives live in Ukraine", I have thought about inserting this in Mikhail Khodorkovsky. But decided it is not important enough to do so... (it would be different he had stated he was partly of Ukrainian decent) If you feel different... Go ahead and do it yourself. —  Yulia Romero  • Talk to me!  16:37, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 23 December 2013
AP reported the following on December 23, 2013 reflecting Khodorkovsky's latest public comments just two days after his release, saying "The 50-year-old appeared composed at his first public appearance since his release, saying he shouldn’t be viewed as a symbol that there are no more political prisoners in Russia. He added that he would do “all I can do” to ensure the release of others."

205.170.118.162 (talk) 20:10, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

✅--Ymblanter (talk) 20:15, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

Please Remove Propaganda
Khodorkovsky was a tool of subversion and geopolitical manipulation against Russia. Here is why he was really imprisoned:http://www.voltairenet.org/article168007.html

Even according to the Daily Telegraph, he was a rather fishy character and not the humanitarian marketed in the media; of course this is spun here:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3607189/This-man-is-now-the-peoples-billionaire.html

And keep the contextualized history of western ambitions against Russia in context to this as noted here by Tony Cartalucci:http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/12/wall-street-vs-russia.html

Also, Peter Lavelle's excellent commentary here:http://rt.com/op-edge/khodorkovsky-pardon-myths-putin-620/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by TonyCartalucciFan (talk • contribs) 02:08, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

Appending to this: Lot of inappropriate mentioning of Putin. For example: "The government under Russian president Vladimir Putin" or "Putin's government" even though he wasn't PM at that time. The article in general is too tendentious and even may be called propaganda. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.23.192.158 (talk) 13:42, 14 February 2017 (UTC)

Shares of Yukos
Subsequent to Khodorkovsky's arrest, Leonid Nevzlin gained a controlling stake in Yukos when Khodorkovsky handed him a 60% share in the holding company that controlled the firm.

The link to that source is broken, the source that I have says the shares passed to Jacob Rothschild 01:57, 29 October 2014 (UTC)Lbertolotti (talk)
 * I removed the paragraph, thanks.--Ymblanter (talk) 08:40, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

Lead and primary description
A series of relatively minor edits to the lead, which included copyediting for grammar and sense, and a clearer focus on who he is and what he is notable for in the opening para, have now been reverted, en-masse, twice now (with that revert marked as "minor" on each occasion, no explanation at all given on the first and a brief note in the edit summary second time which does not address the point). WP:OPENPARA is quite clear about what needs to be included in the first part of the lead. His is not known primarily as a philanthropist, author or columnist; he is known as a businessman/oligarch who was jailed (possibly unfairly). This BBC profile, for example, makes no mention at all of the first three. He seems to have written one book – about his experiences in jail – which is available for £1 from Amazon. It seems a bit odd to have to open a talk page section for this sort of thing, but there you go. I have restored my changes but re-added, per the fly-by reverter's edit summary, a mention of his purported philanthropy and status as an author (which that person could simply have done themselves if they felt it mattered that much), as well as some other details. That would seem to solve the problem unless User:DaltonCastle wants to revert to poor grammar, but it's hard to be sure. Third opinions welcome in case it is all just blindly reverted again.  N-HH   talk / edits  08:31, 3 April 2016 (UTC)
 * For clarity, the issue is twofold. What should the primary description of this person be? Beyond that, is he an "philanthropist", "author" or "columnist" as well, to the extent that these terms need to be there in the first paragraph of the lead, albeit secondary to any primary description? WP:OPENPARA is quite explicit:

"The notable position(s) or role(s) the person held should usually be stated in the opening paragraph. However, avoid overloading the lead sentence with various sundry roles; instead, emphasize what made the person notable. Incidental and non-notable roles (i.e. activities that are not integral to the person's notability) should usually not be mentioned in the lead paragraph."
 * Per the following profiles, he is clearly primarily known as and described as a former oligarch who fell out with Putin and was imprisoned. None of them AFAICT even mention his "philanthropy" or describe him as a "columnist" or "author", even as a secondary description or afterthought, let alone as a primary one: BBC, Telegraph, Time, New Yorker.
 * Furthermore the repeated reverts restored the following phrasing:
 * "He is also an author and previously a columnist". Quite apart from anything else, this is not grammatical. Please consult a guide to English tense usage if this is not clear.
 * " ... on purported tax charges". No, the charges were not "purported", they were real.
 * Thanks, this is 15 minutes of my life that will never come back spent discussing issues that, even if precise phrasing could be debated, would not need to be debated or subject to edit wars in this fashion in any sane environment.  N-HH   talk / edits  16:33, 3 April 2016 (UTC)


 * Hello there! I am sorry you feel like I have been rude in any way but I can assure you that is in no way what was intended. I respectfully have to disagree that his role as a philanthropist is not among his most notable roles. His role as a former oligarch is just that; former. That means there is more to him. He is now active in politics and social activism in a non-political role. That by definition is philanthropy. DaltonCastle (talk) 17:45, 3 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Sorry but repeated reverts of perfectly reasonable edits, while initially marking them as minor and refusing to respond to the justifications given, is rude and unconstructive, whether intended or not. It also doesn't matter whether an individual WP editor declares him to be a philanthropist or declares that to be the best primary description. This is about what he is known for and how he is primarily identified and described in mainstream, reliable, third-party sources, per WP policy. I offered some; you have just ignored them and offered no counter-examples, but just your own (dubious as it happens) definition of philanthropy. You also haven't addressed the concerns about basic English grammar, but have just blindly reverted all my changes yet again – despite the fact I had also attempted to take on board your concerns, such as they were. A reasonable response to someone patiently making an argument with actual evidence, while also taking on board your comments, is not to briefly and simply assert "I'm right regardless" and revert their attempts to improve the page yet again. See also WP:OWN.  N-HH   talk / edits  10:11, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
 * I advise you change your tone. DaltonCastle (talk) 16:02, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Well, since we're dispensing advice, I'd advise you to be a bit more careful about how you go about editing and interacting with other editors who are making perfectly justifiable substantive and/or entirely correct copyediting changes, even if you happen to disagree with some of them. You might want to read up on collaborative editing and WP content policies and guidelines. Do you think my "tone" came out of the blue?  N-HH   talk / edits  16:56, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Yes I do. If you want to make this "tit-for-tat", you began editing without making any comments on the talk page first. It was only after you were reverted that you took up that gauntlet. And when you did you did not initiate with an attitude of civility and constructiveness. I am respectfully asking you to reevaluate your tone. Just because I reverted your edits does not mean I was being rude to you. The simple truth is that your edits, while in good-faith, removed from the lead important context. If you truly do not believe he is considered a philanthropist I can list plenty of sources pointing to this fact. He is most notable for his current work, with his previous work being ancillary. DaltonCastle (talk) 20:43, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
 * I think this latest edit is fine. He is not primarily known as a prisoner (although he was a prisoner), and he is also not primarily known as author, although he is an author. My very best wishes (talk) 17:39, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

Is the state of health has improved Master Mikhail Khodorkovsky  ?
His prison something treated. On YouTube Video noticeable kortikale myopathy. (Wikipedia User's even suggested [(O. Barack)] to create a Privat-Club of poisoning. What helped him? I do not want to share Mikhail Khodorkovsky  respected. Experience, knowledge (free of charge)?195.244.180.59 (talk) 16:17, 14 February 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070121055412/http://www.osw.waw.pl/files/PRACE_25.pdf to http://www.osw.waw.pl/files/PRACE_25.pdf

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 16:32, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 external links on Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110606160955/http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp?link=%2FDocuments%2FWorkingDocs%2FDoc04%2FEDOC10368.htm to http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp?link=%2FDocuments%2FWorkingDocs%2FDoc04%2FEDOC10368.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20081010194724/http://khodorkovsky.info/ to http://www.khodorkovsky.info/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060721010351/http://www.cfr.org/publication/8155/goldman.html to http://www.cfr.org/publication/8155/goldman.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 21:10, 14 September 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20111013071109/http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/russian-businessmen-declared-prisoners-conscience-after-convictions-are-uph to https://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/russian-businessmen-declared-prisoners-conscience-after-convictions-are-uph

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 02:38, 29 November 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 13 external links on Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20091121191323/http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2008/09/focus_mikhail_khodorkovskys_or.htm to http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2008/09/focus_mikhail_khodorkovskys_or.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20151120113024/http://en.novayagazeta.ru/politics/48927.html to http://en.novayagazeta.ru/politics/48927.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100523190323/http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/supporters-around-world to http://khodorkovskycenter.com/supporters-around-world
 * Added tag to http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=%2FDocuments%2FWorkingDocs%2FDoc09%2FEDOC12038.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100421220612/http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/supporters-around-world/global-leaders to http://khodorkovskycenter.com/supporters-around-world/global-leaders
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20101113090148/http://www.amnesty.de/petition/2010/11/berliner-erklaerung-die-geltung-der-europaeischen-menschenrechtskonvention-auch-der to http://www.amnesty.de/petition/2010/11/berliner-erklaerung-die-geltung-der-europaeischen-menschenrechtskonvention-auch-der
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20071223102556/http://www.khodorkovsky.info/statements/132839.html to http://www.khodorkovsky.info/statements/132839.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20091020115413/http://old.lenta.ru/news/2005/10/20/Khodorkovsky/ to http://old.lenta.ru/news/2005/10/20/Khodorkovsky/
 * Added tag to http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/sites/khodorkovskycenter.com/files/pdfs/left-turn-2-11-nov-2005.pdf
 * Added tag to http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/sites/khodorkovskycenter.com/files/pdfs/turn-to-the-left-3.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100526134234/http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-05-22/khodorkovsky-hunger-strike-court.html to http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-05-22/khodorkovsky-hunger-strike-court.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100107182827/http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/news-resources/stories/khodorkovsky-s-opinion-editorial-vedomosti-generation-m to http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/news-resources/stories/khodorkovsky-s-opinion-editorial-vedomosti-generation-m
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20101011144922/http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/news-resources/stories/khodorkovsky-conveyor-belt-russian-justice-legalizes-abuse to http://khodorkovskycenter.com/news-resources/stories/khodorkovsky-conveyor-belt-russian-justice-legalizes-abuse
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110930045234/http://kommersant.com/p908036/r_528/Mikhail_Khodorkovsky_and_Platon_Lebedev_charged_anew/ to http://kommersant.com/p908036/r_528/Mikhail_Khodorkovsky_and_Platon_Lebedev_charged_anew/
 * Added tag to http://www.old.khodorkovsky.info/statements/136329.html/
 * Added tag to http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Europe+condemn+Russia+tough+Mikhail+Khodorkovsky+sentence/4045469/story.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20101208035714/http://www.mikhailkhodorkovsky.com/ to http://www.mikhailkhodorkovsky.com/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110429130526/http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2007/09/mikhail_khodorkovsky_statement.htm to http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2007/09/mikhail_khodorkovsky_statement.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 21:56, 9 December 2017 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added tag to http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5dcf5eac-0829-11e0-8527-00144feabdc0,s01=1.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150723083253/http://www.vocativ.com/world/russia/glavplakat-echo-moscow/ to http://www.vocativ.com/world/russia/glavplakat-echo-moscow/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 18:58, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

NPOV dispute - Menatep section
This section contains several sentences that are clearly biased and do not provide an objective representation of factual information. The sentence "This in itself is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY." sticks out in particular. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 158.106.221.230 (talk) 20:03, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

No information since 2015?
The most recent information in this entry is over five years old already.--98.111.164.239 (talk) 11:28, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

Txbangert
@Txbangert What exactly do you want to discuss? And did you read MOS:FIRST, WP:OR and WP:NPOV? Renat 15:35, 19 February 2022 (UTC)

Dossier Center

 * https://khodorkovsky.com/dossier-center/

Should be mentioned. Xx236 (talk) 09:46, 14 July 2022 (UTC)

Whitewash
Going through the article, a decidedly pro-Khodorkovsky tone is quite apparent....This is presumably the case because Khodorkovsky is anti-Putin, therefore generating reflexive support from many in the West. But of course two things can be true at the same time - Khodorkovsky can be anti-Putin, and it can ALSO be true that he was a very corrupt oligarch who made most of his vast fortune through disreputable means. I've also noticed that the article draws quite heavily (throughout most of its sections) on the commentary of activist/journalist Masha Gessen. It would probably be a good idea to diversify the sourcing in order to provide more balance. A good place to start would be this article, entitled "Is Khodorkovsky Really the Victim?", from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. -2003:CA:872F:5A7F:7D5B:24BC:58EF:3125 (talk) 12:32, 7 November 2022 (UTC)

User:Ymblanter's misunderstanding of WP:BLP
This edit summary so fundamentally misunderstands grammar that it almost is funny. It causes us to wonder about the English proficiency of its author. Or maybe s/he just made a careless slip at the end of a day.

At issue is the following text: "On 21 May 2023 German police announced that they were investigating a potential assassination attempt of the Russian exiles who had attended Khodorkovsky's meeting."

It is beyond comprehension that this is an infringement of WP:BLP and we ask to explain their rationale for this edit summary. Herreshoffian (talk) 14:27, 27 May 2023 (UTC)


 * Thank you, I am really happy that we have a user with 4K edits who can teach me Wikipedia policies. The text you added implies that Khodorkovsky has something to do with the assassination attempt, whereas it is clear forma all available sources that he does not. Indeed the two ladies felt unwell after the meeting he organized (one later said she had the issues before), but the main conjecture is that FSB arranged the attempt, and nobody says Khodorkovsky has anything to do with this. This is clear BLP violation. The material does not belong to THIS article, though it might very well belong to some other article. Ymblanter (talk) 16:04, 27 May 2023 (UTC)

Hello thanks for your reply. The text I added implies nothing of the sort and I would like to ask for your apology. You might be too close to the subject for due editorial impartiality. Let's start out with a question: who is the subject of the sentence in question? Herreshoffian (talk) 21:12, 27 May 2023 (UTC)


 * I am sorry but at this point ANI is your only way forward. You are not my mentor nor my prosecutor. Ymblanter (talk) 21:16, 27 May 2023 (UTC)
 * If the text implies noting of the sort, it should not be in the article because of WP:DUE. Ymblanter (talk) 21:17, 27 May 2023 (UTC)

Ok, we seem to have established that A) is a non-native speaker of English, and B) the presence of an outsized flag on the user page of Ymblanter suggests a sort of clouded judgement over issues related to modern Eastern Europe topics. I'm worried that the sentence "You are not my mentor nor my prosecutor." does not belong in this forum and would seem to urge a time away from this particular subject. Herreshoffian (talk) 21:37, 27 May 2023 (UTC)

Sewing shops.
Even during imprisonment. Wife of Mr. Khodorkovsky. Informed the public. . About intentions. Production shops (firm/firms) were opened. For tailoring. Tailoring. Is there any current news? How is this business going? GDP gave its consent? Eventuel Bortnikov, ... Kostyukov.SdsuresNr.2 (talk) 11:52, 24 August 2023 (UTC)