Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Khodorkovsky, CEO of Yukos oil company, was arrested at gunpoint in Novosibirsk on charges of fraud and tax evasion. The arrest was widely seen as politically motivated due to his funding of opposition parties. Yukos was later dismantled and its assets transferred to state-owned Rosneft.

Khodorkovsky was convicted of fraud and tax evasion and sentenced to nine years in prison. The trial was criticized internationally as politically motivated. He was sent to a penal colony in Chita Oblast, Siberia.

Khodorkovsky was pardoned by President Putin and released from prison after ten years. He immediately flew to Germany. The pardon was seen as a gesture before the 2014 Sochi Olympics, though conditions included not returning to politics.

From exile, Khodorkovsky relaunched the Open Russia movement, a civil society organization promoting democratic values, human rights, and political reform in Russia. The organization was later declared undesirable by Russian authorities.