The sentence is indifferent

The reaction of the business ombudsman Boris Titov to the appeal of the prisoner colony Mikhail Khodorkovsky was quite predictable. I personally had no doubt that a person who finally found harmony in relations with the authorities would not want to violate this harmony because of some complaint of a desperate madman who prefer a colony of beautiful life. But I hoped that Titov would find at least some words that camouflage this indifference to the real problem of Russian business - the opportunity to plant in the colony of any, even the largest entrepreneur, if he does not work with power or influential competitors.

But Titov did not even look for such words - he simply advised Khodorkovsky "officially, according to the existing regulations" contact the Center for Public Procedures "Business Against Corruption". Well, come on, goodbye, Khodorkovsky!

This is the cynicism of the current government. It seems that the business ombudsman already has it, and he feels good - but he cannot protect any entrepreneurial rights. Yes, I have no doubt that in response Boris Titov will lead some statistics - each official in an authoritarian state has statistics. But even the decision of the fate of one person, or even a dozen people, does not affect the essence of the problem. And the essence of the problem is fear. Sticky fear. And the dependence of any person who begins to do business in Russia, on an official, law enforcement and bandit. If you cannot agree with someone from this triad, if you have acquired too much influence, if you did not share with whom you need, you can thunder at any time in the colony. And quite legal. Because Russian legislation is compiled in such a way that anyone who wants to engage in entrepreneurship is a potential criminal. And this is no secret to anyone.

And Khodorkovsky? And Khodorkovsky is the top of the pyramid. This is evidence of what is possible - everyone and everyone. And while it is not at large, in Russia there will be no normal economy, no investment climate, nothing. One Putin. And Boris Titov knows this no worse than me.

We generally like to make a tile expression on the face and talk about how important it is to fight the system when it is necessary to solve specific problems. My colleagues in Kyiv love to explain with an important view that the country's judicial system has long been dependent and corrupt, and the case of Yulia Tymoshenko is only a consequence of this dependence. And who would doubt - only Tymoshenko’s arrest demonstrated to every Ukrainian citizen that the power to defend their interests would trample anyone, will stop at anything. And while Tymoshenko is not free, there will be no democracy in Ukraine, no European integration, nothing. One Yanukovych. And my colleagues know this no worse than me. But they continue to lie.

Because it is more convenient. It is convenient to think that Khodorkovsky is just one of the many businessmen who "sits for too long." And Tymoshenko is just another "wrong" prisoner, and there are plenty of them. So we seem to retain the face, and we will not quarrel with the authorities. And we do not change anything. Because the freedom of Khodorkovsky - like the freedom of Tymoshenko - this is the same needle in the testicle, a blow to the system, Kashcheev death. And if we are the Kashcheev servants, then why should we change something?