'I promised you we would win. We have won. Glory to Russia,” Vladimir Putin said Sunday after a landslide victory in the Russia's presidential election. AFP PHOTO / RIA-NOVOSTI / KREMLIN POOL / DMITRY ASTAKHOV

Russian Tycoon: We Must Prepare For Putin’s Inevitable Downfall -- Josh Rogin, Daily Beast

The man who spent 10 years in prison for crossing Putin says the Russian regime will fall, one way or the other, and those who want a democracy to replace it need to get organized now.

In December 2013, when Vladimir Putin released Mikhail Khodorkovsky from prison after 10 years, the former oil tycoon and political prisoner said he would not enter politics. Only months later, however, he is spending millions to build a new political infrastructure to prepare for what he says is the inevitable fall of Putin’s regime.

“When I left prison, I announced that I am not interested in engaging in politics. I never promised anyone I wouldn’t engage in it and I continue to be not interested in engaging in it,” Khodorkovsky told The Daily Beast in an interview in Washington. “At the same time, I feel it imperative to attempt to influence the power. I feel it imperative that that section of the population that is Europe-centered would have the opportunity to impact the way the country develops.”

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My Comment: A few days ago I called my aunt who lives in Moscow. She had just turned 75 years old and lives in a brand new apartment complex that caters to seniors (courtesy of the Putin government a few years ago). She was excited because she had just received a brand new stove and fridge for her kitchen .... courtesy of .... you guess right again .... the government of Vladimir Putin. So .... who do you think she (and all of her neighbors) vote for when it is election time.

Putin's base are the seniors, those who are deeply religious (Russian Orthodox), the military, government workers, and the rural vote. Mikhail Khodorkovsky's base is Moscow and Saint Petersburg (to a certain degree), intellectuals, .... and some in the expat community. Unless the economy implodes and Putin cracks down on the few liberties that Russians enjoy (which he will not) .... Mikhail Khodorkovsky can spend a billion dollars .... and he will not make a dent in the polls.