The former head of YUKOS said at a press conference in Berlin that he is not going to fight for power and return to business

The former head of YUKOS, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who left for Berlin after his release, on Sunday, two hours before the “big” press conference at the Berlin Wall Museum, held a closed meeting with employees of several media outlets. The broadcast of the meeting was announced by the Dozhd TV channel, but was never shown: the channel’s editor-in-chief Mikhail Zygar said on Twitter that the museum’s security prohibited filming. Dozhd correspondent Tikhon Dzyadko, who was present at the meeting , reported on his Twitter that Khodorkovsky told reporters that he was not going to engage in business or politics, but planned to engage in social activities, including the issue of the release of political prisoners, and not only former Yukos employees.

“The business issue is closed for me. I will not participate in the fight for assets,” Dzyadko quoted . According to him, Khodorkovsky added that he has no idea of his financial condition today and would not like to be perceived as a sponsor of the opposition. At the meeting, Mikhail Khodorkovsky also said that he could not risk returning to Russia until the recovery of 17 billion rubles from him and Platon Lebedev was lifted and had not yet decided where he would be.

In 2005, the Meshchansky Court, following a civil suit by the Ministry of Taxes and Duties (reformed into the Federal Tax Service), decided to recover 17 billion rubles from Khodorkovsky and Lebedev as damages for non-payment of taxes. Lawyers and Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin tried to appeal this decision to the Moscow City Court, but the court refused to overturn the decision of the previous instance. In September, Lukin filed a complaint with the Supreme Court.

When asked if he was grateful to President Vladimir Putin for the pardon, Khodorkovsky replied that he was happy with such a decision. He also emphasized that the question of admitting guilt was not raised when filing the petition. Later, Dzyadko reported on Dozhd that the “closed” meeting lasted about an hour, and there were about 30 journalists present. The main press conference of the ex-head of YUKOS will begin at the Berlin Wall Museum at 16:00 Moscow time. As reported on the website of Khodorkovsky’s press center, after his release he managed to give interviews to The New Times, Snob magazines and the TV channels REN-TV, Dozhd and CNN.

The main press conference began with a slight delay. Khodorkovsky's parents appeared first in the hall; at about 16:10, Khodorkovsky himself entered the hall in a dark blue suit, tie and white shirt. The press conference started at 16:20, when the organizers, in English, German and Russian, persuaded photographers and cameramen to move away from the table at which the ex-head of Yukos was sitting. First, the director of the museum gave an opening speech in German, in which she also thanked President Vladimir Putin, to which the audience responded with dissatisfied exclamations.

Khodorkovsky, having received the microphone, first said that the main purpose of the press conference for him was to express gratitude. He thanked the media, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and noted that many people and organizations took part in his release. “I apologize that I can’t thank everyone, if only because I don’t know everyone,” he said.

Speaking about his plans, Khodorkovsky noted that he received his freedom only 36 hours ago. “And I didn’t think it was possible to make any plans for the future, because the main thing that cripples a prisoner is hope, which at the last moment turns out not to happen. So I still have to think and consult with my friends about what and how to do next, and I will definitely do this,” he said.

At the beginning of the press conference, Khodorkovsky was asked to give advice to Western world leaders regarding their interactions with the Russian president in the future. “I really hope that politicians in Western countries, when communicating with President Putin, will remember, just remember, that I am not the last political prisoner in Russia. But they know better how and what they will do,” he answered. He also spoke out against the boycott of the Sochi Olympics. “I still support the position that this is a celebration of sports. This is a holiday for millions of people, and probably there is no need to spoil it. Probably, there is no need to turn it into a holiday for President Putin personally. It would probably be wrong. But I wouldn’t spoil the holiday for millions of people,” Khodorkovsky said.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky emphasized that he does not intend to engage in political activities, and added that he wrote about this in a letter to Putin. “I am going to engage in social activities. The struggle for power is not my thing. Well, it’s still not up to me to decide,” he stated.

The former entrepreneur also added that he has no plans to return to business. According to him, during his business career he achieved everything he wanted: he successfully managed the second largest company in Russia. “I’m not interested in repeating this success. My financial situation does not require me to work to earn money. And from this point of view, the time that I have left for an active business life, I would still like to devote to paying off debts to those people who are worse off than me - that is, who are still in prison - and to our Russian society, for which it is very important to change a little so that we can live better in Russia. This is what I would like to do. How exactly? Give me more than 36 hours to think it over,” Khodorkovsky said.

The former head of YUKOS found it difficult to answer how long he would stay in Germany. He noted that he was given a visa for a year, but, according to him, he will decide this issue after communicating with his relatives.

Khodorkovsky said that it was not a problem for him to write a petition for pardon, it was a formality. “Informality would be an admission of guilt. Thus, I would admit that the 100,000 YUKOS employees were an immense criminal group. I couldn’t do this to innocent people,” he said. Khodorkovsky noted that his lawyers informed him that admitting guilt in this case was not a condition for filing a petition, after which he wrote the document.

In the middle of the press conference, questions were asked: “You spent 10 years in prison. How do you personally feel about Vladimir Putin? Do you have a feeling of hatred or were you still able to forgive him inside?” Khodorkovsky replied that even when he was involved in big business, he was aware that he was playing tough games. According to him, this harshness towards him was “somewhat extended” compared to usual practice, but it never affected his family. “That is, the attitude towards my family has always been loyal. And that’s what allowed me not to take, let’s call it confrontation, too emotionally. Because everything was fine with the family, the family was treated humanely, I left the problem of relationships in the pragmatic sphere. But pragmatics does not provide for such non-pragmatic things as revenge and hatred. Well, these are the conditions of the game. Yes, I don't like them. Yes, I convince myself that the rules need to be changed. Well, nothing can be done,” Khodorkovsky said.

After this, there was a cry from the audience: “Isn’t Aleksanyan a reason for emotion?” “Vasily Aleksanyan is a gigantic problem,” Khodorkovsky said. He added that he had studied this problem very seriously, and was not sure that he knew everything 100%, but assumed that everyone knew the “performers.” “I would name them publicly, but, unlike Russian traditions, I prefer to have more accurate and documented information for such very serious and unpleasant accusations. Aleksanyan is the cross that I have to bear for the rest of my life,” Khodorkovsky concluded.

Commenting on the role of former German Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher in his release, Khodorkovsky noted that he was asked whether he was ready to rely on the politician’s participation in this matter. He agreed, hoping that it wouldn’t get worse, but it turned out better. Khodorkovsky met Genscher even before his arrest at a meeting with German politicians and businessmen at the Adlon Hotel in Berlin - the same one where the released ex-businessman stayed upon his arrival in Germany.

At the end of the press conference, the ex-head of YUKOS again expressed gratitude for the attention to his case. “I didn’t come here to make some kind of political speech, but to thank both the museum and the people who came,” he said. Khodorkovsky added that he was struck by the attention being paid to the Yukos case. “I apologize that I couldn’t talk to everyone. I wanted. Because I'm truly grateful. But you also understand me. I haven't been with my family for 10 years. I haven't been free for 10 years. Well, a little bit of privacy. A little bit,” he asked.

Khodorkovsky's press conference was short and ended around 17:00.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky told reporters about his plans