The Other Russia has posted some translations of reactions to the parole of Yukos lawyer and mother of three Svetlana Bakhmina, including commentary from Lev Ponomarev, Valentina Melnikova, and  Grigory Chkhartishvili (Boris Akunin).  Below is what Viktor Shenderovich had to say:

Thank God that this happened.  But then comes the question - what are we measuring against?  If we measure against the norms of a civilized European country, then this happened with terrible red tape, after torturous efforts from the public, with a great deafness on the part of authorities, and so forth.  If we measure against Uzbekistan or something along those lines, or even the recent unipolar-Putinist times, when absolutely no one was pardoned and no one was released... then this can be seen as progress.  The glass is either half full or half empty.  I, perhaps, will consider it half full.  It's better this way.

...

The Russian website Izbrannoye, whose motto is "The logic of the main events in Russia and the world", has just published this brief reaction from Boris Akunin to the unintended consequences of his recently published interview with Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Photo: Grigory Chkhartishvili (Boris Akunin), courtesy of www.dom-knigi.ru. Yesterday Mikhail Khodorkovsky was placed in the dungeon of the Chita SIZO. Reason - a publication in the Russian version of the magazine "Esquire". This took place on the eve of that day when Khodorkovsky's parents celebrate the jubilee of their wedding. Afterword to the interview Grigory Chkhartishvili (B.Akunin) has commented at the request of "Izbrannoye" the sending of Mikhail Khodorkovsky to the dungeon -- 09.10.2008 16:02 It never ceases to amaze me - no, not even the baseness, but the impenetrable stupidity of these people. Surely they do not think that you can ...

The following statement is being distributed via wire in response to the news that my client, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has once again been made a victim of unfair, selective, and cruel persecution under the guise of Russian "justice," as authorities have placed him in solitary confinement for having given an interview to the Russian version of Esquire magazine. The translation of that interview with the famous novelist Boris Akunin is available here on this blog. Yuri Schmidt commented to the media that this administrative sanction is obviously and clearly illegal, and that Khodorkovsky has never violated any rule regarding correspondence and that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing of any kind. These kinds of incidents make it very difficult to take Russia's leaders seriously when they talk about commitment to law and justice, and their preparedness to become ...

The Russian version of Esquire magazine has published a very interesting and extensive conversation between Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the writer Grigory Chkhartishvili - who is better known for his extremely popular fiction writing under the pen name of Boris Akunin. Each day this week we will publish a section of this important article. Below is Part 4, click here to read Part 1, here for Part 2, here for Part 3, and here for Part 4. Grigory Chkhartishvili: In two of your articles with respect to the inevitability of a turn to the left much, of course, is fair, but the general idea seems to me to be erroneous and superficial. Or maybe I (and very many together with me) understood it incorrectly. [One gets] such a feeling that you have mixed up the name and the ...

The Russian version of Esquire magazine has published a very interesting and extensive conversation between Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the writer Grigory Chkhartishvili - who is better known for his extremely popular fiction writing under the pen name of Boris Akunin. Each day this week we will publish a section of this important article. Below is Part 4, click here to read Part 1, here for Part 2, and here for Part 3. Grigory Chkhartishvili: Being found in confinement, you published several articles, some of which evoked a kind of alarm among people who considered you to be a like-minded person. Before switching over to this topic, here’s what I’d like to ask about. You have already explained why you so rarely give interviews. But articles – this is different? Are they written due to the lack of someone ...

The Russian version of Esquire magazine has published a very interesting and extensive conversation between Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the writer Grigory Chkhartishvili - who is better known for his extremely popular fiction writing under the pen name of Boris Akunin. Each day this week we will publish a section of this important article. Below is Part 3, click here to read Part 1, and here for Part 2. Grigory Chkhartishvili: Please talk about this in greater detail. This is very important. So you said your goodbyes to colleagues beyond the border. And with family? I’m intruding here on territory where outsiders have no business being, but this is a question to which half of my books are devoted. A real man has two zones of responsibility: the Big World (the work that he does; the idea or faith which ...

The Russian version of Esquire magazine has published a very interesting and extensive conversation between Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the writer Grigory Chkhartishvili - who is better known for his extremely popular fiction writing under the pen name of Boris Akunin. Each day this week we will publish a section of this important article. Below is Part 3, click here to read Part 1, and here for Part 2. Grigory Chkhartishvili: Please talk about this in greater detail. This is very important. So you said your goodbyes to colleagues beyond the border. And with family? I’m intruding here on territory where outsiders have no business being, but this is a question to which half of my books are devoted. A real man has two zones of responsibility: the Big World (the work that he does; the idea or faith which ...

The Russian version of Esquire magazine has published a very interesting and extensive conversation between Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the writer Grigory Chkhartishvili - who is better known for his extremely popular fiction writing under the pen name of Boris Akunin. Each day this week we will publish a section of this important article. Below is Part 2, click here to read Part 1. Mikhail Khodorkovsky: At first, probably, the power simply wanted to have kompromat on influential business groups, but then more radical plans appeared. It must be said, a talk with the president about the rules of the game did take place. During the time of this talk (in 2000) Putin said that he expects that the biggest companies won’t be used for the resolution of political tasks. And we all (I among them) declared that we support this ...