Economics more vital than politics for Russian freedom
06/06/05
Although the conviction and harsh sentencing of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian tycoon, for fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion are only two of many steps that Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken to turn Russia back toward authoritarianism, they are two of the worst. In the years of Putin's crackdown, the international media have predictably focused on the erosion of press freedoms -- first against independent television and now against newspapers. But in the long-term, prospects for the reemergence of liberty in Russia may be most damaged by the loss of economic freedom, as dramatically illustrated by the Khodorkovsky case...
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1520
from Independent Institute, by Ivan Eland
Although the conviction and harsh sentencing of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian tycoon, for fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion are only two of many steps that Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken to turn Russia back toward authoritarianism, they are two of the worst. In the years of Putin's crackdown, the international media have predictably focused on the erosion of press freedoms -- first against independent television and now against newspapers. But in the long-term, prospects for the reemergence of liberty in Russia may be most damaged by the loss of economic freedom, as dramatically illustrated by the Khodorkovsky case...
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1520
from Independent Institute, by Ivan Eland
Starmail - 7. Jun, 11:11
