The Last Word--William Browder: Fighting the Shadows.(Interview)

William Browder is the biggest foreign investor in Russia. He's a vocal defender of President Vladimir Putin. So it came as a surprise back in November when the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management was denied a visa to re-enter the country. Six months later, he's still in London exile--not that business is suffering. Last week Browder's name made a list of the 25 highest-paid hedge-fund managers, with a 2005 income of $130 million. He spoke with NEWSWEEK international editors about his situation, and Russia's. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: So where's your case now?

BROWDER: We're six months into it, and I still have not been given my visa or any explanation.

You've said this situation is more common than people realize ...

Nobody likes to talk about losing their visa. You want to give the Russians a chance to back down gracefully. But in my case, it was impossible to do it quietly because someone who I'd been lobbying let it leak. It's like trying to fight the shadows. You'll never know who your opponent is. I know of at least three other high-profile people in the same visa situation who aren't getting publicity. And I know many other stories of business people, academics, religious people.

Any common threads? All foreign investors?

No. It's basically, if a Russian doesn't like a foreigner be it for business-competition reasons, for religious, for political reasons --it's an easy thing to do to a foreigner.