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David White The electoral decline of liberal parties has been a key feature of post-Soviet politics in Russia. Using Mikhail Khodorkovsky's critique of Russian liberalism as a starting point for analysis, it is argued that a lack of cohesion and unity has undermined support for liberal-democratic forces. Ultimately, however, exogenous factors over which the liberal parties have had no control (the marginalisation of opposition, the restriction of media access and the huge imbalance of resources available to political parties in Russia) have played the major determining role in the liberals' decline. It is argued that Russia's two main liberal parties during the Putin years were targeted by the regime because they were opposition parties. In Russia's electoral authoritarian system, political opposition has been systematically excluded and fragmented, the aim being not just to restrict but to close off any potential opportunities. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] Keywords: Khodorkovsky, liberal, Yabloko, SPS, electoral authoritarianism.

The author compares two conflicts between large businesses and the state in the United States and Russia. Although almost one hundred years apart, the Standard Oil and Yukos cases are comparable in so far as they erupted in the context of early capitalism in a weak institutional environment. Both conflicts were shaped by the state's increasingly strong authority. Adapted from the source document.

David Hoffman, former Moscow bureau chief for The Washington Post, sheds light onto the hidden lives of Russia's most feared power brokers: the oligarchs. Focusing on six of these ruthless men Hoffman reveals how a few players managed to take over Russia's cash-strapped economy and then divvy it up in loans-for-shares deals. Before perestroika, these men were normal Soviet citizens, stuck in a dead-end system, claustrophobic apartments, and long bread lines. But as Communism loosened, they found gaps in the economy and reaped huge fortunes by getting their hands on fast money. They were entrepreneurs. As the government weakened and their businesses flourished, they grew greedier. Now the stakes were higher. The state was auctioning off its own assets to the highest bidder. The tycoons go on wild borrowing sprees, taking billions of dollars from gullible western lenders. Meanwhile, Russia is building up a debt bomb. When the ruble finally collapses and Russia defaults, the tycoons try to save themselves by hiding their assets and running for cover. They turn against each other as each one faces a stark choice--annihilate or be annihilated. The story of the old Russia was spies, dissidents, and missiles. This is the new Russia, where civil society and the rule of law have little or no meaning.

NEW DELHI, Jan 5 DPA - The death toll in a building collapse in India's southern state of Goa has risen to 15, as rescuers raced against the clock to save up to 20 people feared trapped beneath the debris. TEL AVIV - Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon is facing \"imminent\" death, the director at the Tel Aviv hospital where he is in critical condition says. (ISRAEL SHARON)

Moscow has protested to Belgium over its seizure of state assets in response to the ruling, which it described as \"an openly hostile act\" that \"crudely violates the recognised norms of international law\". An international arbitration court in The Hague ordered Russia last year to pay the shareholders about Stg32 billion ($A65 billion) in compensation, after ruling that officials had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos and jail its oligarch boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Lawyer Tim Osborne, who represents the Yukos shareholders, told the BBC: \"The Russian state has made no effort to pay or engage with us - all of its statements and actions suggest it has no regard for international law or the rule of law.\"

Political tussle looms over the Yukos R&D Center of Russia's leading oil company. The head of Yukos, billionaire business leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was in jail charged with tax evasion and fraud. Tokus's business plans were uncertain, so far however, Russian authorities have not sought to meddle with the new center, which will focus on chemistry.

Civilians are found dead and other atrocities near Kyiv afterRussians withdraw. Former NATO commander talks about Putin's strategyand on Ukraine's continued resistance. Putin critic and formeroligarch discusses the power of Russian oligarchs to influence RussianPresident Vladimir Putin. GUESTS: James Stavridis, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Jon Batiste

Civilians are found dead and other atrocities near Kyiv afterRussians withdraw. Former NATO commander talks about Putin's strategyand on Ukraine's continued resistance. Putin critic and formeroligarch discusses the power of Russian oligarchs to influence RussianPresident Vladimir Putin. GUESTS: James Stavridis, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Jon Batiste

Explosions reported in Dnipro, Ukraine targeting civilian areasincluding hospitals. Russian convoy now largely dispersed, moved undertree cover. Ukraine's largest pharmaceuticals continuing to deliverymuch needed medical supplies soldiers and civilians despitechallenges. Two big Wall Street banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgancutting business in Russia. Yukos Oil's former chief said the Westneed to block 100 percent of Russia's cash flow to stop the war inUkraine. GUESTS: Dmytro Shymkiv, Mikhail Khodorkovsky