In 2004 Mikhail Khodorkovsky was the richest man in Russia, according to Forbes, but Premier Vladimir Putin froze the shares of Yukos, his energy giant and drove his fortune down to a fraction of what it had been. Like all the oligarchs, who had more or less stolen their fortunes in assets once owned by the state, Khodokorvsky was warned by Putin not to interfere in politics and he would never be prosecuted for his economic crimes. But, the oligarch, a soft-spoken man, refused to submit to this threat from Putin, according to a documentary film called "VLAST" (for Power,) that I have seen prior to its official distribution. ( It was directed and produced by Cathryn Collins. Pilar Crespi, the executive producer and wife of my friend Stephen Robert, former CEO of Oppenheimer & Co., gave it to me).
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