'Putin's oldest enemy' has advice for Western leaders

meet mikhail horkowski vladimir

putin

russia's

oldest

enemy

was russia's richest man until

putin

sent him to jail for 10 years now has some pithy

advice

for

western

leaders

dealing with his former adversary first you must show the putin's strength you need to show he told him that if he didn't stop then they would stop him and here he was mikhail horikowski in october 2003 he was having a barbecue with his young family in his mansion in moscow feeling on top of the world soon that world would collapse harkowski se had become Russia's richest man in the 1990s thanks to his hard work, brilliance and a series of dubious get-rich-quick schemes in the chaos of the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he ended up owning Yukos, perhaps the most valuable oil company in the world, in which he built a financial powerhouse he was well connected politically first to russian president boris yeltsin and then to yeltsin's chosen successor vladimir putin, then in 2003 he made a dangerous decision, he started to publicly call for democratic reforms in Russia, began campaigning against Russian corruption and publicly told Putin in a televised Kremlin meeting that most Russians thought he was personally corrupt, he responded with a warning that the Harkovsky himself could be investigated for tax evasion and other crimes, then followed through on that threat in a move that shocked the nation.

Horikowski was arrested and hauled before the courts. He was in prison from 2003 to 2013. He says his 10 years in prison taught him how to deal with violent and ruthless men who only respect the language of violence and force men like Vladimir Putin. He believes Western

leaders

should learn those lessons in In their lives, many Western leaders never communicated much with criminals. The rules of communication in the criminal world are completely different from the rules they are used to, like the respectable Mr. Macron, who has been trying to negotiate with Putin when Putin considers himself to have the advantage at the moment. it only causes Putin to be even more aggressive, that's what I'm afraid Western leaders don't understand what their reaction is when Emmanuel Macron, for example, says that Russia should not be humiliated, that Putin should be given exit ramps. , I'm sure it's not right first. you need to show force to Putin, you need to show him that if he doesn't stop, he will be stopped, you need to give Ukraine three, four or five weapons systems that are equal to Putin's military weaponry, only at the moment you show that to Putin .

If he doesn't stop, they will stop him. Can negotiations start with momentum? He moved to London. He still had access to what was left of his fortune, which he said was about $500 million. He began using that money to sponsor anti-Putin and pro-democracy groups. activities that made his family and friends very concerned for his safety many of putin's opponents in exile ended up dead famous putin critic alexander litvinenko was poisoned in london with polonium in his tea traced to a russian government nuclear reactor died Former KGB agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in England with a radioactive Russian poison called novichok, obviously administered by two Russian military agents who were later unmasked.

Coincidentally, the same poison was used to try to kill Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny in Russia, he only survived by chance. When his commercial flight made an emergency landing, are you worried that Putin will try to assassinate you? Look, I already live with this. This is a normal situation in many risky professions. When a miner enters a mine, he knows that anything is possible. Dying is a chance of not being killed well yes but the result is the same I will meet with God this goes with the territory I'm used to it I think my risk now is much lower than when I was in prison I could have been killed then with just a click of a button finger harkovsky's habit of laughing in the face of danger was revealed during his trials in russia at first the prosecutor suggested that he not pay taxes on a huge amount of oil he sold and then accused him of falsifying the sale of that oil, which seemed to contradict the first charge.

How could he evade taxes on a transaction that never occurred? He often appears to be smiling or even laughing during some of the court proceedings against him in Moscow. Why was that when? If you are experiencing events that you cannot influence, you have two options: get depressed or look for something positive in the events, something that you can benefit from. I am of the second type, for example, during the second process, I detain my lawyers. I interrupted the prosecutor because it was useless that he had no influence in court. I told them to give me a chance to enjoy listening to these idiots.

It was so funny it was like I was on some kind of TV comedy show. it was almost a theater of the absurd absolutely yes, it was a complete theater of the absurd this showed that the regime had no interest in even pretending that these proceedings were real judicial proceedings that was their wish we will do this because we can Hartkowski thinks that NATO does not understand that the West He is already in a life or death struggle with Putin and will undoubtedly attack his home country if he is not defeated in Ukraine. Yes, I am absolutely convinced that if they don't.

Show Putin right now that he will lose if he doesn't come to negotiate. So over the next two years there is a 90 chance that NATO will have to go to war with Russia because that is beneficial for Putin. How do you think Putin's regime will end? As long as Putin can show the Russian army and the people that he is winning, there is no threat to him, but the moment he loses, right at that moment, the situation will be absolutely different for him and he will most likely lose. I was personally moved when he saw the Russian attacks on Ukraine, especially the city of Harkee.

He made her question his identity as a Russian. My parents were born in Russia, but his parents were born in Ukraine and lived their entire lives in Ukraine until they were four years old. I was living with my great-grandmother in Harkief when they started bombing the heart. I didn't expect how painful this would affect me. The most important thing I have personally realized is that these people, the haki, hide from the bombings inside the subway. the stations are us the people who are doing the bombings are enemies to me they are not using harkowski originally supported the consent of vladimir putin's power in russia to his eternal regret says that his personal battle with putin and the 10 years in prison it cost him taught him lessons about dealing with the Russian president that Western leaders should learn from which he hopes they will listen terence mckenna cbc news london