| Most ordinary Russians applauded President Vladimir Putin's
tough action
against Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the head of Yukos, but the media and
political elite were more critical of the authority's actions.
The rating of United Russia, a pro-Kremlin party, has increased by 4
per
cent in the past two weeks. "He [Khodorkovsky] deserves everything
he has
got. Why should he have $8bn and the rest of us nothing," said Dmitry,
a
driving instructor in Moscow.
However, the liberal elites have been disturbed by the chilling crackdown
on Yukos and its chief which evoked painful and still fresh memories of
political repressions.
Kommersant and Nezavisimaya Gazeta, two newspapers owned by the exiled
business tycoon Boris Berezovsky, a strong critic of the Kremlin,
maintained a tough line, with the former stressing the sharp fall in the
share price of Yukos following the freezing of a 44 per cent stake.
The front page of the latter carried a story entitled "Chubais's
day",
reflecting actions against Anatoly Chubais, the head of UES, the
electricity monopoly, and a leader of the Union of Right Forces party,
who
has been one of the most critical voices.
Komsomolskaya Pravda, a tabloid owned by the oligarch Vladimir Potanin,
switched its approach yesterday, narrowing the focus to the alleged crimes
of Mr Khodorkovsky.
Most Russian newspapers seemed more concerned with the falling value
of the
market and the negative impact of the economy than with the personal fate
of Mr Khodorkovsky. Vremya Novostei, one of the more independent
newspapers, said the "arrest" of Yukos shares was more significant
than the
arrest of Mr Khodorkovsky.
Lilia Shevtsova, a political analyst with the Moscow Carnegie Centre,
said
following a government reshuffle: "We are living in a different country
now. It is not only a change in style, rhetoric and some people. It's
a
change of political regime, and a change in the pattern from oligarchic
capitalism to bureaucratic capitalism."
Russian brokerages put a more positive spin on political events, stressing
that Dmitry Medvedev, Alexander Voloshin's replacement as head of the
presidential administration, was not connected to security services.
See also:
YUKOS
case
| 