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 The film, "Citizen K", was made by Oscar-winning U.S. filmmaker
Alex Gibney and premiered at the Venice Film festival this
weekend. It was based on more than 24 hours of interviews that
Khodorkovsky, who is now based in Britain, gave over a period of
months.
It tells the story of Khodorkovsky's dramatic 2003 arrest on an
icy Siberian runway by armed men and his fall from grace,
punishment for what he and his supporters believe was his
interest in Russian politics and fighting corruption.
The bespectacled tycoon, then head of the now defunct Yukos oil
company, went on to serve a decade in jail on fraud charges he
says were politically motivated before being freed in 2013 after
President Vladimir Putin pardoned him.
"Today’s Kremlin regime has learned the art of window dressing
very well, but it’s important to understand that behind these
beautiful windows there is not just an ordinary authoritarian
state but a real mafia, which has taken over this state,"
Khodorkovsky, 56, told Reuters.
"If we look at how these methods are applied in relation to the
West, we will see corruption, blackmail, compromising materials
and even violence. While negotiating with the current Russian
regime the West should understand it's dealing with a criminal
organization."
Russia, which rejects his criticism as false, has issued an
international arrest warrant for Khodorkovsky, accusing him of
ordering at least one successful contract killing in the 1990s,
something Khodorkovsky denies.
Putin has said he regards the former businessman as a common
thief, while Russian authorities have moved to curb the
activities of Open Russia, a pro-democracy movement founded by
Khodorkovsky.
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"A VERY TALENTED KGB GUY"
In "Citizen K," Khodorkovsky says he misread Putin when the
former Soviet intelligence officer first came to power.
"It seemed to me ideologically that he was one of us. A person
who gets it and wants to push Russia in the same direction that
we want to. That is towards openness, towards democracy," said
Khodorkovsky.
"Boy was I mistaken. He's a very talented KGB guy."
Despite living in Britain, Khodorkovsky said he "lived for
Russia" and that it occupied his thoughts for 12 out of every 16
waking hours a day, adding that he and his supporters were
acutely aware of the risks they ran.
"If the Kremlin decides to kill somebody, it is very difficult
for this person to avoid this fate," he said, a reference to
allegations that Moscow has assassinated some of its critics
abroad, a charge the Kremlin flatly rejects.
"I tell all my colleagues that the only thing we can do for you
is to help you not to be forgotten, as I was not forgotten
during 10 years in prison. But it will be difficult, or even
impossible, to save you if anything happens."
(Additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Venice and
Maria Stromova in Moscow; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by
Gareth Jones)
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