Russian Liberals Won't Lead the Revolution

What Russia will be like after Vladimir Putin is probably the most important question for everyone with a stake in the country's future. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man and now a political exile, is optimistic he'll have a role to play. But his plans may put him on the same path toward political irrelevance that another Russian billionaire, Boris Berezovsky, followed after leaving Russia.

Yesterday, Khodorkovsky delivered a lecture at the prestigious London think tank, Chatham House. A little more than a year since his release from a Russian prison after 10 years behind bars, and his forced emigration to Switzerland, the former owner of the Yukos oil company is beginning to outline his strategy for a triumphant return to his homeland. Though Khodorkovsky stressed during the question and answer session after the speech that he was not after any government office, the audience got a strong sense the speech was outlining a political program for an eventual bid for power. One person in attendance, journalist Ben Judah, tweeted: