The Last Word: Mikhail Khodorkovsky; Words from behind bars.(Interview)(Excerpt)

Since 2003, Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been jailed in Moscow on charges of tax fraud. His arrest--widely believed to have been retaliation for posing a political challenge to President Vladimir Putin--shook boardrooms from London to New York and called into question Russia's commitment to the rule of law in business. He has since watched as his massive company, Yukos Oil, has been stripped of its largest production unit, Yuganskneftegaz, and he faces up to 12 years in prison in a sentence due later this year. Through questions and answers submitted in written form through his lawyers last week, NEWSWEEK's Russian edition conducted the first interview Khodorkovsky has given from Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina jail. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Did you expect your incarceration to last this long?

KHODORKOVSKY: Yes, I did. Unfortunately, the length of my imprisonment depends in large part not on the court but on several officials and businessmen close to them, who are afraid that I will try to take revenge on them for my tribulations. I am hoping for the best, but I'm forced to prepare for the worst.

Do you have any guesses as to when you will go free?

I don't know. Probably when the government becomes a government, and the court becomes an independent court rather than a mechanism for dividing up property. Maybe this year, maybe never.

Do you agree with the assertion that your incarceration is payback from the Kremlin for the fact that you were too active in politics?

In part. Personally I am a supporter of a strong state, but I believed, and I believe, that a state's strength lies not in a huge number of officials and their powers, but in the trust people give, in the ability to recruit the best minds and consolidate them to deal with society's problems, in the competition and mutual controls of state and public institutions.