Yukos affair timeline final (08.10.09) links work

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For further information, please visit the Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Centre
1989
 Following the creation of a successful import-export business, Mikhail Khodorkovsky acquires a banking licence and with several
business partners forms Bank Menatep, one of the first commercial banks in Russia. Subsequently, Khodorkovsky and his business
partners establish Rosprom, a diversified holding company. Rosprom was later replaced with Group Menatep Limited.
15th April 1993
 The Russian Government founds Yukos as a separate legal entity and consolidates certain state-owned producing, refining and
distribution entities into a vertically integrated oil company. By the end of 1995, Yukos comes close to bankruptcy amid falling output and
rising debt, owing over $3 billion.i
1996
 The government makes a decision to privatize Yukos. Through their holding company, Khodorkovsky and his business partners acquire a
majority interest in Yukos for approximately $350 million. At this time, Yukos’s debt exceeds $3 billion and the company is six months
behind in payment of salaries to its employees. Yukos annual oil production reaches 34 million metric tons of oil but is decreasing by 7-
15% annually.
1996- 1999
 With Khodorkovsky’s leadership, Yukos initiates a series of modernising reforms and major restructuring programmes to “match
international standards for corporate behaviour and financial stability.” By the end of 1999, Yukos’s oil production was increasing 10%
annually. By 2003, its production level reached 80 million metric tons of oil per year.ii
Feb 2000
 Yukos launches its Governance Charter and publishes accounts to international standards.iii
March 2001
 Yukos becomes listed on the New York, London, Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich financial indexes.iv

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Feb 2001
 Khodorkovsky founds the “Open Russian Foundation” (ORF) a non-governmental organisation dedicated to principles of freedom and
democracy. Prior to its enforced closure by the Kremlin in 2006, the ORF funded up to $20 million per annum in programmes diversified
across education and science, public health, leadership and cultural development. The ORF was also noted for providing support to
populations indigenous to the areas in which Yukos maintained production facilities.v
2003
 Group Menatep Limited, which holds a majority interest in Yukos, enters into negotiations with United States oil majors ExxonMobil and
ChevronTexaco for the acquisition of at least a 25% interest in Yukos for up to $20 billion. In addition, Yukos agrees in both principle
and detail to acquire Sibneft, the fourth-largest oil company in Russia, through a merger.vi
19th Feb 2003
 During a live televised broadcast, Khodorkovsky challenges President Putin over Rosneft’s controversial acquisition of the oil producer
Severnaya Neft from Senator Andrei Vavilov. During this exchange, Khodorkovsky argues that the $600 million price paid by Rosneft
was excessive, thus implying that some parties close to the Kremlin had improperly benefited from the transaction.
April 2003
 In an attempt to promote democracy and engender greater political debate, Khodorkovsky shows his public support for numerous
political groups including Yabloko, the Communist Party and even the pro-Kremlin United Russia.vii
19th June 2003
 The Russian government arrests one of the Yukos security managers, Alexei Pichugin, on charges of murder and attempted murder.
Pichugin’s arrest is widely seen as an attempt to coerce him into implicating one or more of the founders of Yukos. During his pre-trial
detention in the Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, Pichugin is denied access to counsel and is interrogated with the aid of psychotropic
drugs.viii

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2nd July 2003
 Platon Lebedev, a major shareholder in Yukos, head of Group Menatep Limited, and a close friend of Khodorkovsky is arrested on fraud
charges relating to the 1994 privatisation of the fertilizer company Apatit. The arrest occurs while Lebedev is hospitalised.ix
14th August 2003
 The Yukos-Sibneft merger is approved by the Russian Anti-Monopoly authority, subject to certain standard conditions. The merger
would create Russia’s largest oil and gas group and the world’s fourth largest oil producer. However, following discussions between
leading Sibneft shareholder Roman Abramovich and President Putin, the merger which had been scheduled to begin in January 2004 is
unexpectedly cancelled.x
October 2003
 In an interview with German publication “Die Welt”, Khodorkovsky argues that the Kremlin had sought to create a “managed
democracy” that operates “a liberal economy in an authoritarian state.” The publication of the interview comes only three days prior to
his arrest.xi
25th October 2003
 When a TU-134 plane with Khodorkovsky on board stops in Irkutsk where he was scheduled to speak at the School of Public Politics, ,
FSB Special Forces arrest Khodorkovsky at gunpoint on trumped-up charges of fraud and tax evasion. When news of the arrest is made
public, the Russian stock market closes for the first time ever and the rouble experiences one of its most drastic falls. The Russian media
argued that the arrest marked “the end of capitalism” and even state-owned news outlets described the arrest as “absurd.”xii
30th October 2003
 The Russian prosecutor’s office freezes 44% of Yukos common stock owned by Group Menatep Limited “as shares which are in effect
owned by Khodorkovsky.” xiii

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29th December 2003
 The Russian tax authorities initiate a “special” tax re-audit of Yukos’s income tax payments for 2000. The audit lasts less than two weeks,
and the Russian tax authorities conclude that Yukos failed to pay approximately $3.4 billion in taxes for 2000 (almost 85% of Yukos’s
income before income taxes for that year).
14th April 2004
 Following an irregular “re-audit” of Yukos’s tax liabilities, Russian tax authorities declare Yukos liable for a further RUB 99.4 billion in
retroactive tax liabilities dating back to 2000. Simultaneously, Yukos are told by Russian Tax Ministry that they have two days within
which to fulfil their tax obligations.
15th April 2004
 Only a day after Yukos’s declared liability, the Russian Tax Ministry initiates legal proceedings with the Moscow court of arbitration to
recover their tax entitlements.
6th May 2004
 In a Moscow Arbitrazh Court, Yukos appeals the $3.4 billion assessment of back taxes, asking the court to declare unlawful the decision of
the tax authorities.
26th May 2004
 Following a short period of deliberation, the Moscow Arbitrazh Court upholds 99% of the Russian Tax Ministry’s reassessment of Yukos.
Consequently, Yukos is compelled to make the repayment within 5 working days, while all its bank accounts and assets are under arrest
as security. Yukos subsequently make three appeals against the decision only for the court to uphold the ruling on 29th June 2004.xiv
16th June 2004
 The initial trial of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev begins, only to be immediately adjourned at the request of the prosecution.xv

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12th July, 2004
 The trial resumes with prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin brandishing Khodorkovsky as the head of an “organised criminal group,” an accusation
the defense describes as “absurd.” The Russian judicial system is broadly criticised for requiring that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev endure
the entire trial from within a metal cage in the courtroom.xvi
20th July 2004
 The Moscow District Federal Arbitrazh Court upholds the decision of the Moscow Arbitrazh Court forcing Yukos to pay its $3.4 billion
back tax claim immediately.
24th July 2004
 Former Yukos executive and Representative on the Russian Federation Council, Leonid Nevzlin is accused of organising contract killings.
An in absentia trial of Nevzlin (based on a new law which was recently adopted) began on March 19th, 2008 and resulted in Nevzlin’s
conviction on August 1st, 2008, with a sentence of life in prison. Nevzlin, who remains in Israel, has applied to the ECHR for review of his
case.
November, 2004
 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issues a report titled “The circumstances surrounding the arrest and prosecution
of leading Yukos executives”. The report concludes that “the circumstances of the arrest and prosecution of leading Yukos executives
suggest that the interest of the State’s action in these cases goes beyond the mere pursuit of criminal justice, to include such elements as
to weaken an outspoken political opponent, to intimidate other wealthy individuals and to regain control of strategic economic assets.”
2nd November 2004
 The Russian tax authorities announce additional tax liabilities on Yukos for the financial years of 2001 and 2002, adding another $10
billion in back tax claims.

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19th November 2004
 The Russian government announces that it will conduct an auction of Yuganskneftegas (YNG), the main production subsidiary of Yukos,
to be held on 19th December 2004, in order to liquidate all or part of Yukos’s alleged tax liability. The auction contravenes Russian law,
which requires non-core assets to be sold first for such purposes. Gazprom is rumoured to be the expected winner of the auction.
7th December 2004
 Former Yukos in-house legal counsel Svetlana Bakhmina is arrested on charges of embezzlement related to Yukos activity. In April 2006
she was convicted and sentenced to seven years (reduced to 6.5 years on appeal) of imprisonment in a Mordovian prison camp, over
600 kilometers away from her family, including two young sons, in Moscow. Russian law allows sentencing to be delayed when a mother
has very young children, but Bakhmina's request was denied. At times during her imprisonment, she went on hunger strikes to protest
the prison authorities' acts of cruelty, which included not allowing her to phone her children.
16th December 2004
 Yukos files for bankruptcy protection in the United States to prevent the auction of YNG. It accuses the Russian authorities of "an
unprecedented campaign of illegal, discriminatory, and disproportionate tax claims escalating into raids and confiscations, culminating in
intimidation and arrests". The Houston bankruptcy court issues an order freezing all Yukos assets including the YNG stock that was to
be the subject of the auction and enjoining Gazpromneft, Gazprom and several foreign banks from taking any actions with respect to the
sale of YNG shares.xvii
19th December 2004
 State-owned gas producer Gazprom attends the YNG auction, yet does not bid. YNG is purchased by a diminutive Russian front
company, Baikal Finance Group, at the fire sale price of only $9.7 billion. Baikal’s bid is the only bid at the auction.
 Subsequently, it transpires that Baikal Finance Group was wholly comprised of Kremlin insiders headed by Igor Sechin, Deputy Head of
the Presidential Administration and a close associate of President Putin. On 22nd December, Baikal Finance Group is purchased by
Rosneft, a wholly state-owned Russian oil company. Igor Sechin had been Chairman of Rosneft from July 2004.
 When asked, “Why does the state use non-transparent schemes…[such as] the use of Baikal Finance Group to buy YNG?”, Putin
responded by claiming that the use of Baikal Finance Group to purchase YNG was necessary to protect the ultimate owner of the asset
from legal claims of expropriationxviii.

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 The de-facto nationalisation of YNG was denounced by Andrei Illarionov, then the most senior Kremlin economic advisor, who
described it as “the scam of the year.”xix
March 2005
 Following Russia’s petition to Britain for the extradition of Yukos employees, the Bow Street Magistrates’ Court refuses the extradition
of both Dmitry Maruev and Natalya Chernysheva. The court deems that the charges against Khodorkovsky and other Yukos employees
are “politically motivated”.xx
1st March 2005
 The Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Spanish Congress of Deputies passes a motion supporting the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky
(file number 161/1408), published in the "BOCG. Congreso de los Diputados" Series D, Volume 325 1st February 2006, that calls upon
Russian authorities to respect Resolutions 1418 (2005) and 1692 (2005) of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe in relation
to Khodorkovsky and other Yukos executives, in reference to infringements of the rule of law; and to request the immediate transfer of
Khodorkovsky to a detention center with conditions of incarceration to which he is legally entitled as is any prisoner, and which is in
proximity to his immediate family.
30th March 2005
 Former Yukos security manager Alexei Pichugin is found guilty of organising the murders of Sergei and Olga Gorin and the attempted
murder of Olga Kostina and Victor Kolesov. Pichugin is sentenced to serve 20 years in prison. Between April 3rd and August 17th, 2006,
a second case against Pichugin was tried in the Moscow City Court on allegations of organising the murders of Valentina Korneyeva and
Nefteyugansk mayor Vladimir Petukhov, two attempted murders of Yevgeny Rybin and his driver and two bodyguards. Pichugin was
convicted and sentenced to an additional 24 years in prison. Following a retrial of his second case that saw an appeal by the prosecution
to increase the severity of the sentence, in August 2007 Pichugin was again found guilty and the sentence was increased to life in prison.xxi
Pichugin applied to the ECHR to review both convictions.
11th April 2005
 Amnesty International issues a public statement on the political motivations behind the arrest and prosecution of Khodorkovsky and
Lebedev: “Amnesty International believes that the concerns in these cases are indicative of wider problems in the criminal justice system

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in the Russian Federation relating to the independence of the judiciary; access to effective legal counsel; conditions of detention; and the
use of torture and ill-treatment in order to extract confessions.”xxii
16th May 2005
 After 12 days of concluding statements at Moscow’s Meshchansky Court, judges find both Khodorkovsky and Lebedev guilty on all
charges and they are sentenced to 9 years imprisonment (reduced to 8 years on appeal). The trial was officially concluded on May 31
when the judges finished reading of the verdict in open court.xxiii
1st August 2005
 The first part of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s political essay “Left Turn”, written in his prison cell, is published in Vedomosti, calling for a turn
to a more socially responsible state.
19th August 2005
 Khodorkovsky announces that he is on hunger strike in protest over Lebedev's placement in a punishment cell. Khodorkovsky asserts
that because Lebedev has diabetes mellitus and heart conditions, keeping him in the punishment cell could be equivalent to murder.xxiv
September 2005
 The hearing of Khodorkovsky’s appeal of his verdict is rushed through at an impossible speed: 450 case volumes, 6,500 protocols from
the court hearings and 700 pages of the defence’s appeal are ostensibly read and considered by the Moscow City Court in one day.
 The purpose of the rushed appeal process is to deprive Khodorkovsky of his right to stand for election in the Duma by ensuring his
conviction is confirmed before a certain date under the election timetable – which turned out to be the day after the appeal judgment.
The authorities were eliminating any chance that Khodorkovsky win election to the Duma and thus have a political platform – again
denying him his right to engagement in political processes and peaceful expression of his political beliefs.
16th October 2005
 Khodorkovsky is transferred to the prison camp YaG-14/10 in Krasnokamensk, Siberia, close to the border with China. The camp is
close to a uranium mine, and the area was found in 1995 to have levels of radon 190 times over the recommended maximum. Lebedev is
transferred to OG 98/3 Kharp Colony, a prison colony located above the Arctic Circle.xxv

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11th November 2005
 Mikhail Khodorkovsky expresses his views on Russia’s political future and the role of the elites in the second part of his political essay
"Left Turn", published in Vedomosti.
18th November 2005
 U.S. Senate Resolution 322, signed by Barack Obama, John McCain and Joe Biden, is passed and states that “the criminal cases against
Khodorkovsky, Lebedev, and their associates are politically motivated.” It continues to suggest that “the trial, sentencing, and
imprisonment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev have raised troubling questions about the impartiality and integrity of the
judicial system in Russia," and that their imprisonment represents "a violation of the norms and practices of Russian law."xxvi
December 2005
 The Russian tax authorities bring a new tax claim against Yukos for the 2003 tax period in excess of $4 billion. With an additional claim
for back taxes for 2004, Yukos’s total tax bill exceeded $30 billion for the 2000-2004 tax periods.
7th April 2006
 Just 3 days after his appointment as Executive Vice President of Yukos to lead the battle for Yukos survival, Vasily Alexanyan, former
Head of the Yukos Legal Department, is arrested on charges of money laundering and embezzlement.
13th April 2006
 Khodorkovsky is attacked in his sleep by fellow prisoner Alexander Kuchma. In 2008, around the time of the hearing on Khodorkovsky’s
application for parole, the same prisoner files a lawsuit for 500,000 roubles ($15,000) against Khodorkovsky, accusing him of homosexual
harassment. Kuchma’s intended appearance at the parole hearing as a witness was planned by the authorities to demonstrate that
Khodorkovsky was not fit to be released from prison. In March 2009, after Khodorkovsky’s parole application was denied, the case was
summarily dismissed after the initial court hearing.xxvii

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August 2006
 A court order formally declares Yukos bankrupt and calls for the liquidation of assets to commence. Liquidators are appointed despite
Yukos’s appeal.
December 2006
 Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are transferred from their prison camps to Chita pre-trial detention facility No.1 (IZ-75/1), located in
another Siberian city, 6,072 kilometres east of Moscow. In 2003, the prison gained notoriety when it drew strong criticism from the
Moscow Helsinki Group which reported it to be operating under extremely poor conditions and severe overcrowding, with as many as
eighty people occupying rooms designated for only twenty. Despite the flagrant unsuitability and illegality of their relocation,
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were forced to prepare their defence arguments 6,072 kilometres from the scene of their trial and the
location of their lawyers.xxviii
25th - 26th December 2006
 The Russian Federal Tax Service files a suit against Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) in the Moscow Arbitrazh Court demanding that
the 2002-2004 Yukos audit contracts be declared invalid. The next day, Michael Kubena, Director-General of PwC in Russia strongly
refutes the charges, stating: “PwC’s audited statements for Yukos in 2002 had no professional, legal or regulatory defects. To the contrary, PwC
conducts all of its audits, including the 2002 Yukos audit, according to the highest professional and ethical standards strictly in compliance with
Russian and international law. We will vigorously defend our position and reputation both in court and in dialogue with government authorities which
are empowered to regulate [the] auditing profession.”
 The Russian authorities make it clear to PwC that any attempt to cooperate with the Khodorkovsky defence team would potentially
land several PwC officials in jail, and perhaps even cost PwC Russia its business.
17th January 2007
 PwC issue a statement on Yukos financial statements: “[PwC] reiterates that Yukos financial statements “have been properly prepared
to present, in all material respects, the company’s financial position and financial results in accordance with the relevant Russian
accounting standards. We conducted these audits according to the highest professional and ethical standards strictly in compliance with
Russian law and best auditing practices.”

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5th February 2007
 Shortly preceding Khodorkovsky’s and Lebedev’s eligibility for parole, new charges of the embezzlement of oil produced by Yukos
subsidiaries, embezzlement of shares held by a Yukos subsidiary, and money laundering resulting from the sale of the allegedly embezzled
oil collectively worth $25 billion are brought against them. The charges would potentially add up to 22 years to their sentences.
14th February 2007
 On its front page and in a worldwide exclusive outside of Russia, Le Monde publishes the full text of Khodorkovsky’s strong rebuttal to
the new allegations against him, under the headline, “I am not afraid”.
 In a statement published in the newspaper, Khodorkovsky says: “The reason why all this is being done is also quite obvious. People who
invented the ’Khodorkovsky case’ in order to steal Yukos, the most prosperous company in Russia, are very much afraid to see me
freed and want to insure themselves against the possibility of my conditional release.”
9th March 2007
 Approximately twenty representatives of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s Office raid and search
PwC’s Moscow office on the grounds that as Yukos’s auditors, the firm had committed tax fraud. Interior Ministry officials also announce
they are launching a criminal probe into alleged tax avoidance by PwC in Russia. PwC comment that the Russian authorities seized
paper files and electronic records not limited to the period of 2002 which went well beyond the scope of the tax claim.
20th March 2007
 The Moscow Arbitrazh Court rules that contracts held by PwC with Yukos were invalid and orders a payment by PwC of $480,000 to
the Russian State.
 At the hearing the representative of the tax authorities says that PwC employees who acted as auditors and consultants to Yukos are
formally put on notice that they may be prosecuted for tax evasion schemes and other crimes allegedly committed by Yukos.
April 2007
 PwC appeals the decision of the Moscow Arbitrazh Court which ruled that the contracts for audit between the accounting firm and
Yukos in 2002-2004 were invalid.
 PwC loses its major Russian client of 13 years, carmaker AvtoVAZ; the Russian Government annuls its contract with PwC for the
Sakhalin II hydrocarbon project, and Transneft reports that it will not renew its contract with PwC. Pressure mounts on PwC not to
defend its audits on behalf of Yukos.

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March - August 2007 – The Final Assets of Yukos Sold Off
 Following the highly punitive tax arrears against Yukos that totalled more than $30 billion, and acquisition by Rosneft of the vast majority
of Yukos assets in controversial auctions, the liquidation of Yukos is nearly completed.xxix According to the Financial Times, “Rosneft’s
sweep of all of Yukos’s production units and refineries has transformed the company from Russia’s number eight oil major, worth just $6
billion, into the country’s biggest producer, with a market capitalisation of $90 billion. It spent a mere net $2 billion in the process.”xxx
The Economist describes the Yukos sell-offs as “larceny”.xxxi
24th June 2007
 PwC succumb to the intensive pressure applied against it by the Russian state. The auditors reverse course on their vigorous defence of
their audits on behalf of Yukos, withdrawing the entire set of audit reports for the company for the years ending 1995 to 2004. A cryptic
PwC press release states that new information brought to its attention by Russian authorities led the audit firm to believe that certain
information provided to it by Yukos may not have been accurate. Observers find PwC’s statement to be dubious.
 PwC provide no specifics as to what new information could possibly cause such a broad reversal and full surrender.
August 2007
 The Swiss Federal Tribunal forbids Swiss authorities from cooperating with Russian prosecutors on Moscow’s requests for legal
assistance related to the allegations against Khodorkovsky. The Tribunal – which is Switzerland’s highest court – noted that such
assistance must be refused when a case is "a subterfuge to pursue a person for his political opinion". This was the first time, outside of
extradition cases, that Swiss courts denied assistance because a case was political in nature.
 Owing to the “politically motivated nature” of the case, the Lithuanian Prosecutor’s General Office denies Russia’s request that Mikhail
Brudno, a former associate of Khodorkovsky, be extradited.xxxii
October 2007
 The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) finds that Lebedev's prosecution violated international human rights laws and awards him
damages. The ECHR finds that Lebedev was detained illegally and denied access to counsel, that hearings were conducted on his case
without his attorneys present, that proceedings have been unlawfully delayed, and that the appeal process has been continually
obstructed.xxxiii

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 The Amsterdam District Court rejects the Russian Bankruptcy Receiver’s attempt to take control of Yukos’s subsidiary outside of Russia,
Yukos Finance, NV, and finds that Yukos was deprived of a fair trial in the Russian tax cases and, therefore, the Yukos bankruptcy case
violated the fundamental principles of due process of law as generally accepted in the Netherlands and outlined in Article 6 of the
ECHR.xxxiv
October 2007
 Following an appeal by UK based firm RosInvestCo, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) accepted jurisdiction for the appeal
owing to the MFN clause found in the UK-Soviet Bilateral Investment Treaty. The appeal by RosInvestCo is founded on evidence that
the Russian Government initiated discriminatory and expropriatory actions that rendered Yukos and by extension RosInvestCo’s assets
worthless. Following the SCC’s ruling, the Russian state sought again to challenge the Tribunal and the jurisdictional permissibility of the
case.
26th October 2007
 In Le Monde, French philosopher André Glucksmann publishes an article titled “Sakharov and Khodorkovsky: The Same Battle” in which
he describes Khodorkovsky’s ongoing imprisonment as retribution for his expression of political values inconsistent with those of the
regime.xxxv
7th November 2007
 Following a lengthy arbitration with Rosneft, the Dutch courts find in favour of the petitioner Yukos Capital S.a.r.l, thus refusing to
recognise the enforced bankruptcy of Yukos. The appointment of Eduard Rebgun, the Kremlin-installed administrator of Yukos’s Finance
Division BV, is deemed unlawful. Following this decision, in April 2009 the Amsterdam Court of Appeal rules that Rosneft pay an
arbitration award worth $400 million in damages to Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. The decision effectively allows Yukos Capital S.a.r.l. the right to
seize Rosneft assets in the Netherlands.xxxvi
15th November 2007
 Following the completion of the sale of Yukos’s remaining assets, the courts grant the liquidator’s application to declare Yukos bankrupt
and formally dissolved. On the 22nd of November, Yukos Oil Company was removed from the Russian register of enterprises.

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30th January 2008
 Khodorkovsky begins a hunger strike in protest over former Head of Yukos Legal Department Alexanyan’s treatment. Despite being
HIV-positive, Alexanyan was denied any medical treatment because he refused pressure to testify falsely against Khodorkovsky, Lebedev
and other Yukos officials. Following a diagnosis of lymphatic cancer, Alexanyan continued to be deprived of medical care, and was kept in
harsh jail conditions, with his condition severely deteriorating over the course of nearly two years while the criminal investigation is
pending. In three decisions, the ECHR pressures Russia to provide medical care on an urgent basis and an immediate release of
Alexanyan. Khodorkovsky’s hunger strike continues for fourteen days (from 30th January to 12th February) until Alexanyan is finally
moved to a hospital, where despite being handcuffed to his bed he is finally able to receive treatment. On the 30th December 2008 the
terminally-ill Alexanyan is released on bail, with his trial delayed pending a court decision on whether he can stand trial despite his
illness.
7th February 2008
 On the front pages of its four editions worldwide, The Financial Times publishes the first face-to-face interview with Khodorkovsky since
his arrest in 2003. In a broad-ranging interview, Khodorkovsky expresses hope that President Medvedev will succeed in his goal to
combat “legal nihilism” in Russia, and wishes Medvedev strength in the face of strong forces impeding the development of the rule of law
in Russia.
2nd March 2008
 Dmitry Medvedev is elected Russian President, who then appoints Vladimir Putin as Russian Prime Minister. President Medvedev publicly
acknowledges the systemic corruption and misuse of the Russian judicial system, and subsequently vows to tackle the “legal nihilism”
endemic in Russia. Medvedev’s declaration leads to assertions that Khodorkovsky’s new trial represents “a litmus test” for Medvedev’s
agenda of reforming Russia’s judiciary and removing the state’s perturbing level of corruption.xxxvii
May 2008
 Cypriot Judge Alecos Panayiotou denies Russia’s request for the extradition of Vladislav Kartashov, a former manager of Yukos. Judge
Panayiotou rules that “there is a real risk that his right to a fair trial may be flagrantly violated.” He further states that the charges against
Yukos and Khodorkovsky were “tainted with political motive.”xxxviii

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8th June 2008
 When asked for her opinion on a potential pardon for Khodorkovsky, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany “would
welcome” such a move.
30th June 2008
 In order to circumvent a law limiting pre-trial detention to a maximum of 18 months, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are presented with a
recycled version of the charges brought against them in February 2007.
16th July 2008
 Having served more than half of his eight year sentence, Khodorkovsky’s legal team submits a request for his parole to the Chita District
Court.
22nd August 2008
 The Chita District Court denies Khodorkovsky’s parole request. Following a further appeal to the Ingodinsky Regional Court in Chita,
Judge Igor Faliliyev upholds the original parole denial, citing a series of supposed acts of indiscipline and “lack of enthusiasm in learning
how to sew” as evidence of Khodorkovsky’s unsuitability for rehabilitation.
 After a Russian news agency incorrectly reports that Khodorkovsky was granted parole, the Russian stock market reacted positively, and
then plummeted again when the rumours were found to be untrue.xxxix
October 2008
 Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s written dialogue with Russian writer Boris Akunin is published in the Russian edition of Esquire magazine.
 In his written answers, Mikhail Khodorkovsky reflects on the experience from the first trial and its impact, and recollects his role in
promoting anti-corruption legislation and democratic reform before his arrest.
8th October 2008
 After his first major interview with the Russian edition of Esquire magazine is published, Khodorkovsky is castigated with 12 days of
solitary confinement. Following the unsuccessful appeal of the parole decision, the original decision to reprimand Khodorkovsky for his

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Esquire interview is condemned as “illegal”. His interviewer, Boris Akunin, a well known writer in Russia, argues that Khodorkovsky has
become “a symbol of Russia’s lost rule of law.”
November 2008
 In 2008, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law in the Hague considers GML’s claim for $50 billion in
compensation from the Russian Federation following the disintegration of Yukos. GML brought an Energy Charter Treaty Claim (the
world's largest investment lawsuit to date) against the Kremlin. Yukos shareholders accuse the Russian Federation of unlawfully
expropriating their investments by issuing the company a series of impossibly huge tax demands, forcing the sale of its production
subsidiaries to state-owned companies at a fraction of their value.
7th November 2008
 The third part of Khodorkovsky's political essay "Left Turn", a strikingly radical article with the subheading "Global Perestroika", is
published in Vedomosti.
18th February 2009
 The ECHR declares that the Yukos case filed on 29th January 2009 is admissible for further examination regarding complaints that:
o the company was taxed unlawfully in respect of liabilities asserted against no other taxpayer in Russia and which were wholly
unknown to Russian law before the Yukos case;
o that this taxation and its enforcement amounted to the disguised expropriation of the company and its assets;
o and that these measures singled the company out for special treatment in a discriminatory and abusive way
 This is the first time the ECHR reached such a conclusion for a publicly quoted company and in monetary terms this is the biggest claim
ever submitted to the ECHR or any other court in the world.
27th January 2009
 Upon the conclusion of the investigation of the new charges, the defense lawyers of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev file a motion with the
prosecution to dismiss the charges against the men and terminate the proceedings. Citing the numerous violations of their clients'
constitutional rights and lawful interests, the attorneys assert that it would be impossible for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev to receive a fair
trial.

18
30th January 2009
 The ECHR rules that a claim against the Russian government filed by Yukos is partially acceptable. The Strasbourg court rejects claims
by the Russian side that Yukos had already been liquidated and therefore the case could not be heard. At the same time, the court found
admissible Yukos’s assertion that tax claims against the company were filed to destroy it and sell off its assets. The hearing on the merits
of Yukos claims was scheduled for November 19, 2009.
24th February 2009
 Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are moved from Chita to Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina Detention Facility to face trial on the new charges.
3rd March 2009
 The preliminary hearings begin on the new case with Khodorkovsky and Lebedev facing charges of embezzling 350 million metric tonnes
of oil worth $25.4 billion – an amount that exceeds Yukos's entire production over the 6 year period in question. The defense repeats
its motion to terminate the criminal case against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev previously filed with the prosecution. The court denies this
motion as well as all other motions filed by the defense at the preliminary hearings.
31st March 2009
 Following the completion of the preliminary hearings, Chief Judge Viktor Danilkin begins trial proceedings at the Khamovnichesky Court
on 31st March 2009.
April 2009
 In a meeting coordinated through the National Press Club, seven prominent human rights foundations issue an open letter to President
Medvedev criticising the Russian government’s “politically motivated prosecutions” and its propagation of “serious flaws within the
(Russian) criminal justice system.” The letter cites the plight of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev “as the case in point,” using their example to
demonstrate the “marred judicial process” and failures to protect its people’s “liberty and security” as examples of the moral bankruptcy
of the Russian legal system. The letter calls on President Medvedev to “ensure that the rule of law is upheld in the trial of Mr
Khodorkovsky and Mr Lebedev.”xl

19
14th April 2009
 Following the official adoption of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee’s Annual Report on Human Rights in the World
2008, the Committee criticizes the Russian government, expressing concern about the mistreatment of Khodorkovsky, Lebedev and
Alexanyan, and noting the lack of an independent judiciary in Russia.
 In the report, the Committee expresses “further concern... as to the ongoing failure of the Office of the Prosecutor to respect the right
of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his associate Platon Lebedev to a fair trial”
21st April 2009
 Khodorkovsky and Lebedev plead not guilty to the criminal allegations brought against them. Khodorkovsky states: “…what is taking
place is not “legal nihilism” in the name of certain “political objectives” nobody understands, but specifically a corruptional conspiracy of
the petty bureaucratic slime out of personal, mercenary interests, contrary to the interests of the country and of justice”. Lebedev calls
the charges "blatantly falsified" and states: "This is not an accusation but a schizophrenic fraud...I have never stolen anything nor raided
anything in my life, either individually or in a group. To confess to a crime that has not taken place is ridiculous."
 On the same day, having served four out of six years imprisonment on charges of fraud and embezzlement, former Yukos lawyer
Svetlana Bakhmina is released on parole from a prison in Mordovia. The release is the culmination of a concerted national and
international campaign for her freedom that included an 86,000-person-strong petition and the public support of former Soviet President
Mikhail Gorbachev. The former Soviet President felt compelled to act after hearing that Bakhmina had her application for parole twice
rejected, despite being legally eligible for parole, and pregnant.xli
27th April 2009
 Judge Danilkin denies a defense motion plea for the case to be thrown out of Court and the prosecution start to present their evidence.
Defense attorneys are denied the right to comment on the evidence presented by the prosecution.
May 2009
 The arbitration court in Stockholm grants jurisdiction over the claim by four Spanish investment funds with a previous stake in Yukos
which demanded over $75 million in damages from the Russian Government for expropriation of their investment.xlii

20
15th May 2009
 In a rare detraction from protocol, Igor Yurgens, a prominent adviser to President Medvedev, openly criticises the premiership of Mr
Putin on the grounds of Russia’s overdependence on energy revenues and for creating a legal system that practises acts of “selective
jurisprudence and of disproportionate brutality that is counterproductive for the state itself.” Yurgens went on to suggest: “There are
signs of a thaw, but it is very cautious and it is not yet enough to prove that is a tendency rather than symbolic."xliii
20th May 2009
 Following Khodorkovsky’s 2004 application to the Strasbourg Court, the ECHR issues its Admissibility Decision. The Court rejects the
arguments of the Russian Federation which had sought to have the application ruled inadmissible, and instead rules that Khodorkovsky's
argument – that there had been fundamental violations of his human rights – raises "serious issues of fact and law under the Convention"
which now must be considered for a final judgment. The Court decides that Khodorkovsky's allegations of the following breaches of the
European Convention on Human Rights are all admissible:
o Article 3: Inhuman and degrading treatment
o Article 5: Unlawful arrest and subsequent detention
o Article 18: His arrest, detention and prosecution were politically motivated.xliv
June 2009
 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issues a report examining “politically-motivated abuses of the criminal justice
system in Council of Europe member states”, with a heavy emphasis on Russia and the Khodorkovsky case in particular. Sabine
Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, a former German minister of justice who had led the research and writing of the report, highlights the
Yukos affair as “emblematic” of the risks faced by investors when dealing with the Russian state’s authorities. The report describes the
new charges against Khodorkovsky as “bizarre” and “contradictory,” and asserts that Russian authorities are waging an “unrelenting
campaign” against Yukos and its executives. The arguments of the prosecutors in the new Khodorkovsky case are described as
“inconsistent” and “perplexing”.
9th June 2009
 MP Marcus Meckel, the foreign affairs spokesman of Germany's Social Democratic Party, attends the Khodorkovsky trial at Moscow’s
Khamovnichesky Court. Meckel states: "The goal of my visit was to show that we are all watching what is happening here." He further
asserts that the outcome of the trial will show if President Dmitry Medvedev is truly committed to making Russia's judicial system

21
independent. Meckel criticizes the charges that Khodorkovsky is facing, and the way in which they are being "absurdly" presented. "If we
assume that the court is independent, let us wait for the court's decision, which I believe, will prove the charges are absurd," Meckel
concluded.xlv
19th June 2009
 US Senators Roger Wicker and Benjamin Cardin submit a bipartisan resolution condemning the politically-motivated trial of
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. The resolution stipulates that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are “prisoners who have been denied basic due
process rights under international law for political reasons”, that “Russia operates on a record of selective prosecution, politicization, and
abuse of process” and that “the new criminal charges brought by Russian authorities against Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev should
be withdrawn.”xlvi
22nd June 2009
 MP Dr. Andreas Schockenhoff, Deputy Chairman of CDU/CSU Parliamentary Faction, visits the second trial of Khodorkovsky and
Lebedev. Following his visit to the trial, MP Schockenhoff says: “...the current proceedings are not congruent with the constitutional and legal
norms which Russia has committed itself to. Moreover, there is concern about political influence on the proceedings and that this trial will be used
for political goals...This trial is a test case for the credibility of the Russian justice system which [President] Medvedev has called for. It is also a test
case for Russia's compliance with standards of the Council of Europe to which it has committed itself.”
26th June 2009
 Following the Senate’s resolution submission, the House of Representatives put forward House Resolution 588, introduced by James
McGovern (D-Mass.), chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Subcommittee on Europe. The Resolution states that the state-led castigation of Khodorkovsky constitutes “a politically-
motivated case of selective arrest and prosecution that serves as a test of the rule of law and independence of Russia’s judicial
system.”xlvii
July 2009
 U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Moscow underlines the unrelenting concern of major world powers at the arbitrary and unfair
treatment of Khodorkovsky. President Obama asserts that “only true democracy can advance our rights” while also suggesting that
governments who do not serve the will of their people do not last long.xlviii In an interview with opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta,

22
Obama comments on the perplexing nature of the new charges against Khodorkovsky, and declares his support for President Medvedev’s
“courageous initiative to strengthen the rule of law in Russia,”xlix
2nd July 2009
 The German Bundestag passes a resolution entitled “Strengthening the Rule of Law in Russia.” The Resolution attains support from all
parties within the Bundestag. Dr Andreas Schockenhoff, Deputy Chairman of CDU/CSU Parliamentary Faction, states: “The
Khodorkovsky trial is an important test case for the credibility of the Russian justice system Medvedev holds dear, due to its signal effect
for the economic and legal culture within Russia.”l
14th July 2009
 German MP Rainder Steenblock attends Khodorkovsky’s and Lebedev’s trial, stating: “It is astonishing that the evidence is presented in a
very imprecise manner. It looks like they do it on purpose...The atmosphere in the courtroom, with the defendants locked in a glass cage
and with armed guardians in front of them, does not contribute to a fair trial."
20th July 2009
 Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov gives an affidavit in the ECHR supporting Khodorkovsky's case that Vladimir Putin
"revealed political motives" for his attack on Khodorkovsky during his presidency. In an interview with The Financial Times, Kasyanov
confirmed his closed-door conversation which he detailed in his statement to the ECHR. Kasyanov said that Putin had stated that
Khodorkovsky had "crossed a line by financing the communists without his permission", despite also financing Kremlin-friendly parties.
6th August 2009
 Spanish authorities refuse to extradite Antonio Valdes Garcia, whom the Russian Prosecutor General's Office has sought in connection
with the case against former Yukos officials. Valdes Garcia, a Russian-born Spanish national, is the former head of Fargoil, a former
Yukos oil trading subsidiary that plays a central role in the second trial against Khodorkovsky.
 At the request of the Russian General Prosecutor’s office, Valdes Garcia returned to Russia in July of 2005. He was charged criminally
shortly thereafter. After he was almost killed in the custody of the enforcement agencies (he fell from the window of the building where
he was kept in the custody of the enforcement agencies), Valdez Garcia managed to escape Russia. In 2009, he filed a criminal complaint
in Russia against the Prosecutor’s office, describing threats, blackmail and torture inflicted upon him to force him to provide false
testimony against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. The Prosecutor’s office denied the allegations.

23
14th August 2009
 The Khamovnichesky Court grants the prosecution's motion to extend Khodorkovsky’s and Lebedev's detention in the Matrosskaya
Tishina detention facility until November 17, 2009. The court disregards all of the defense team's counter arguments against the harsh
conditions of incarceration.
18th August 2009
 Yukos liquidator Eduard Rebgun is delivered a notification to pay a €500,000 fine following his failure to enforce the Dutch court's April
2009 decision regarding the restoration of Group Menatep's control over Yukos Finance, according to reports from Kommersant. The
notification states that if Rebgun fails to pay the fine, his property and assets might be seized.
11th September 2009
 Khodorkovsky’s correspondence with famed Russian novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya is published by Novaya Gazeta.
 Through his letters, Khodorkovsky discusses his life in prison, how he maintains his strength, his past as a wealthy entrepreneur and
Russia's current political situation.
18th September 2009
 The prosecution completes its presentation of case material in the second trial.
24th September 2009
 The Italian parliament votes in favour of a motion urging the Italian Government "to activate all diplomatic channels, together with other
European partners, to guarantee the respect for human rights and the right of defence for Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev
and for all Russian citizens".
 The motion, presented by Pier Ferdinando Casini, leader of the Christian Democrat Party (UDC), receives overwhelming support: out
of 478 MPs attending the plenary session, 430 vote in favour.
 During the debate, Alfredo Mantica, Undersecretary of State for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, express support for the motion on
behalf of the Government and call for unanimous adoption by all political groups.
i
The BBC, The rise and fall of Yukos, 31st
May 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4041551.stm
ii
IBID http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4041551.stm
iii
iviv
v
Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Centre, http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/about-khodorkovsky-and-lebedev/philanthropic-work

24
vi
The Independent, Exxon Mobil set to invest in Yukos, Oct 2003, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/exxonmobil-set-to-invest-in-yukos-581977.html
vii
PBS, Interview with Mikhail Khodorkovsky: Money, Power & Politics, October 2003, http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/moscow/khodorkovskyinterview.html
viii
The BBC, Jail Term for Security Boss, 30th
March 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4393003.stm
ix
x
The Daily Telegraph, Abramovich met Putin before vetoing Yukos-Sibneft merger, 30th
Nov 2003, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2870505/Abramovich-met-Putin-before-vetoing-Yukos-Sibneft-
merger.html
xi
The New York Times, The President and the Prisoner, 5th
February 2008 www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/opinion/02iht-edvonklaeden.4.12527934.html
xii
National Journal, Putin’s Arresting Move: Jailing Russia’s Richest Oilman Makes Him a More Dangerous Rival, Political Pulse, William Schneider,4th
November 2003
xiii
The BBC, Russia Freezes Yukos Shares, 30th
Nov 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3227447.stm
xiv
Gateway Gateway to Russia, Yukos has to pay tax bill, court says, 29th
June 2004, http://www.gateway2russia.com/st/art_244946.php
xv
xvi
The BBC, Yukos “Tycoon ran criminal group”, 15th
July 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3896507.stm
xvii
The BBC, Yukos seeks US tax Refuge, 15th
Dec 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4097551.stm
xviii
Yukos Shareholder Coalition, http://www.yukosshareholdercoalition.com/press_room/media_summaries_2006feb.html
xix
The BBC, Putin Aide slams Yukos Sell off, 28th
December 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4129875.stm
xx
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, Other trials and proceedings, http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/previous-trials-proceedings/other-trials-proceedings
xxi
The BBC, Jail Term for Yukos security boss, 30th
March 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4393003.stm
xxii
Amnesty International, AI Index: EUR 46/012/2005 (Public), http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR46/012/2005/en/dom-EUR460122005en.html
xxiii
The BBC: The rise and fall of Yukos, 31st
May 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4041551.stm
xxiv
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, Human Rights and Rule of Law, http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/global-perspective/human-rights-rule-law
xxv
The Guardian, Welcome to Penal Colony YaG 14/10. Now the home of one of Russia’s richest men.”, 25th
Oct 2005 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/25/russia.tomparfitt
xxvi
Senate Resolution No.355, 18th
November 2005 http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/sites/khodorkovskycenter.com/files/Senate%20Res.%20322.pdf
xxvii
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, Human Rights and Rule of Law, http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/global-perspective/human-rights-rule-law
xxviii
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, Current Legal Status, Prisons http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/current-legal-status/prisons/interactive-feature
xxix
Huliq News (RIA Novosti), Yukos Oil Firm formally ceases to exist, 22nd
November 2007 http://www.huliq.com/42721/yukos-oil-firm-formally-ceases-exist
xxx
The Financial Times, Yukos finally expires, victim of its battle with the Kremlin”, 10th
May 2007
xxxi
The Economist, Yukos is finally being put out of its misery. Guess who profits?, 28th
March 2007
xxxii
xxxiii
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, European Court of Human Rights Cases, http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/previous-trials-proceedings/echr-cases
xxxiv
xxxv
Robert Amsterdam Blog (Le Monde), Sakharov and Khodorkovsky: the same battle, 26th
October 2007 http://www.robertamsterdam.com/france/2007/10/glucksmann-dans-le-monde.html
xxxvi
xxxvii
The Washington Times, Reversing the Habit of Legal Nihilism, 1st
April 2009 www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/01/reversing-habit-of-legal-nihilism
xxxviii
xxxix
Reuters, Russian court rejects Khodorkovsky parole, 22nd
August 2008 http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLM50421620080822
xl
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, Human rights groups call President Medvedev to uphold rule of law, 22nd
April 2009 http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/news-resources/stories/human-rights-
groups-call-president-medvedev-uphold-rule-law-khodorkovsky-tria
xli
Radio Free Europe, Russia Orders release of Ex Yukos Lawyer, 21st
April 2009 http://www.rferl.org/content/Russia_Releases_ExYukos_Lawyer_Bakhmina_On_Parole/1612722.html
xlii
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, (The am law), Stockholm Court hear Yukos investors’ claim against Russia, 9th April 2009 http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/news-
resources/stories/stockholm-court-hear-yukos-investors-claims-against-russia
xliii
The Daily Telegraph, Medvedev aide attacks Vladimir Putin’s concentration of power, 19th
June 2009 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/5345009/Dmitri-Medvedev-aide-attacks-
Vladimir-Putins-concentration-of-power.html
xliv
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, European Court of Human Rights Cases, http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/previous-trials-proceedings/echr-cases
xlv
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, Marcus Mekel... criticises Khodorkovsky trial, 9th
June 2009 http://khodorkovskycenter.com/news-resources/stories/marcus-mekel-german-social-democratic-
party-foreign-affairs-spokesman-critici
xlvi
Senate Resolution 189, 21st
June 2009, http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/sites/khodorkovskycenter.com/files/S%20%20Res%20%20189%20-%202009.pdf
xlvii
House Resolution 558, 27th
June 2009, http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/sites/khodorkovskycenter.com/files/pdfs/res588-2009.pdf
xlviii
The New York Times, Obama resets ties to Russia but work remains, 7th
August 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/world/ europe/08prexy.html?scp=3&sq=obama%20russia%20visit&st=cse
xlix
The Novaya Gazzeta, Interview with President Obama, 28th
June 2009
l
Khodorkovsky Communications Centre, Bundestag Parliamentary Motion regarding Mikhail Khodorkovsky , 3rd
July 2009
http://www.khodorkovskycenter.com/sites/khodorkovskycenter.com/files/3%20July%202009%20Bundestag_Parliamentary%20Motion.pdf

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