Russia: A Postmodern Dictatorship? London Event
Today, the Legatum Institute in London, in partnership with the Institute of Modern Russia, launched the first of its Global Transitions lecture series entitled Russia: A Postmodern Dictatorship?
The launch featured a panel discussion on Russia’s ‘postmodern’ authoritarian type of regime with contributions from Peter Pomerantsev, Anne Applebaum and Pavel Khodorkovsky.
In his opening remarks, Pavel Khodorkovsky stated that his father’s case was an early warning sign that justice in Russia is nothing more than a charade. He also talked about how his father remains committed to a vision for a democratic state, based on a strong civil society.
Peter Pomerantsev, whose report Russia: A postmodern Dictatorship? was a basis for the discussion, warned that the West is now seen as a problem, rather than a solution and asked if it was time to start talking about anti-corruption as a human right.
Pomerantsev’s paper mentions Mikhail Khodorkovsky: “the Kremlin’s priority is to show it has full control of the script, a principle which also shapes the Russian regime’s use of show-trials against potential independent actors. The 2009 trial of non-conformist oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the 2013 trial of opposition leader Alexey Navalny were punctuated with absurdity. In both cases, the initial charges were nonsensical: Khodorkovsky was alleged to have stolen oil from himself, while Navalny was alleged to have taken part in corrupt business deals from which he extracted no profit. The testimony of defence witnesses was used as proof of guilt by the sentencing judge in both cases. But this absurdity appears to be deliberate. It proves to the public that the Kremlin can re-imagine reality at will, can say ‘black is white’ and ‘white is black’ with no one able to contradict.”
During the question and answer session, Pavel said he fully expects the Russian Government not to intervene this time and that his father will be released in 2014. He said he had very little specific knowledge of what he intends to do once he has been released but expects he will spend as much time as possible with his family.
