Disillusion fully set in only one year after Medvedev s election, when a new case against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev was brought, this time for embezzlement of billions and money laundering.

Vasily Aleksanyan was Executive Vice President of Yukos, and, as a lawyer, defended Khodorkovsky and his partner, Platon Lebedev, after their arrest in 2003. He was subsequently disbarred and was himself arrested in April 2006.

The judge refused without comment requests by the defense to remove the cage and to replace one of the prosecutors, who had already been a prosecuting counsel during the first trial. So the authorities aim seems clear put Khodorkovsky and Lebedev away for a much longer time more than 20 years if they are convicted.

Likewise, instead of welcoming the sort of foreign investors who can modernize the economy, the regime continues to wage its judicial war against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev of Yukos Oil. They were convicted for financial crimes in a 2004 trial, but in August faced a fresh round of charges, including tax evasion and embezzlement.