Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian ex-billionaire who spent a decade in prison after opposing President Vladimir Putin, in his most public criticism since being released in December backed the anti-Kremlin uprising in Ukraine and called for Western support against Russia.
A crowd at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute gave Khodorkovsky a standing ovation when he arrived and frequently applauded as he gave a lecture and took questions. He said neither Russia currently nor Ukraine under ousted President Viktor Yanukovych were “law-based” states. The West should provide financial aid to Ukraine as security against Russia, he said, invoking the post-World War II Marshall Plan program that sought to bolster Europe economically and fight the spread of Soviet communism.
