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Mikhail Khodorkovsky

@khodorkovsky_en

Apr 28

State-run pollster in Russia have published a noticeable drop in Putin's approval.

Last week, Russia's economy minister stood up and admitted the country's reserves are largely gone.

🧵Let's take a look at what it all could mean: [1/14]

The trigger appears to be the continued economic downturn. GDP is down 1.8%, with industry and construction also weakening.

Even more strikingly, the economy minister has admitted that a large share of Russia's reserves has already been used up. Putin has demanded answers.

[2/14]finance.yahoo.com/economy/articl…

On the surface, this looks like a standard economic story. But in Russia, this is a major departure from the norm.

The country has been through far worse without public acknowledgement from the top. So when criticism appears, it usually serves a political function.

[3/14]

Read 14 tweets

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

@khodorkovsky_en

Apr 27

Imagine this: A major disaster hits your country. People are dying, cities are burning, the environment is ruined. You look to your national leader for a plan, but they've nowhere to be found.

Sounds unlikely? In Putin's Russia, it's an everyday reality. In 26 years in power, he has vanished every time the nation is in pain. [1/16]

Right now, in Russia's Tuapse, it's literally raining oil. After drone strikes, black soot covers the city, animals are dying, and a 10,000 sq m slick is spreading in the Black Sea. And the president is radio silent.

[2/16]

Residents are choking on benzene levels three times the limit and desperately asking, "Where is Putin?" Well, while Tuapse faces an ecological disaster he is busy renaming his alma mater after Dzerzhinsky (the Cheka founder) and meeting the President of the Seychelles.

[3/16]

Read 17 tweets

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

@khodorkovsky_en

Apr 23

The West keeps making the same fundamental mistake about Russia.

I’ve spent a decade in the system, ten years in six different Russian prisons, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that switching the "Tsar" won't fix a thing.

Here is why the "Good Tsar" myth is a trap, and what actually needs to happen. 🧵 [1/12]

There is a prevailing hope in DC and Brussels that if we just replace the current man in the Kremlin with a "liberal" leader, everything will click into place.

I’m telling you: It won’t. [2/12]

I once conducted a small "social experiment."

I met with four high-ranking, qualified American politicians and asked them: "Imagine you wake up tomorrow as the President of Russia. It’s a massive, diverse territory controlled by a rigid center. To maintain power, the center must strip 60% of resources from the regions and then redistribute them.

How do you convince people to accept that? [3/12]

Read 12 tweets

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

@khodorkovsky_en

Apr 15

Putin just lost his "Trojan Horse" inside the EU.

Viktor Orban, one of Moscow’s most dependable EU allies, is out. This result carries massive implications for Russia’s ability to project power and disruption across Europe.

Here is why Moscow is panicking. 🧵 [1/14]

Putin’s EU Veto: The End of Strategic Obstruction

For years, Orban turned Hungary into a pressure point inside the EU. Because of the bloc's need for unanimity, Budapest could, and often did, slow or block decisions on any issue, be it sanctions, funding, or military support. [2/14]

The Cost of Obstruction.

Orbán’s track record of blocking aid to Ukraine is staggering:
2022: Blocked an €18bn aid package.
2023: Stalled crucial payments through the European Peace Facility.
2024: Obstructed a €90bn long-term support plan for Kyiv. [3/14]

Read 14 tweets

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

@khodorkovsky_en

Apr 9

It is nearly impossible for a European to comprehend the psychological reality inside Russia. It is not just "fake news." It is a total deconstruction of reality.

Let me try to immerse you in the world Russians live in [1/9]

First, understand the isolation. Around 90% of Russians have never left the country. Even fewer have ever stepped beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union.

For the vast majority, the "West" is not a place they have visited. It is a ghost story told by the state. [2/9]

This is difficult to imagine in Europe. You take a 2-hour train ride and you are in another country. In Russia, the scale is different. When I was transported from Moscow to prison, the journey took 7 days. SEVEN. 7 days on a train in the same country. [3/9]

Read 9 tweets

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

@khodorkovsky_en

Apr 8

The real Iran crisis is nearing a terrifying tipping point. We are one mistake away from a catastrophic energy and water collapse that will trigger a global humanitarian emergency.

Here is why the "informal limits" are about to break: 🧵 [1/15]

The Iran crisis is approaching a crossroads. Either it settles into a fragile political arrangement, or it escalates into a wider regional conflict. Either way, the consequences will reach far beyond the Middle East. [2/15]

For Washington, a prolonged war is politically difficult to sustain. Legal constraints, competing priorities and the pressure of the upcoming midterms all push toward outcomes that appear decisive without being open-ended. [3/15]

Read 15 tweets

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