KHODORKOVSKY, Mikhail Borisovich
Former Chairman of YUKOS oil company

Born June 26, 1963 in Moscow.

1986 - graduated from the Mendeleyev Institute of Chemical Technology in Moscow, specialized in engineering technology

1988 - graduated from the Moscow Institute of the National Economy (also known as the Plekhanov Institute)

1986 - served as the deputy secretary of a district Komsomol committee in Moscow
1987 - helped organize the Center for Branches of Industry, Scientific and Technical Programs
1990 -  founded the MENATEP bank group
1992 - co-authored the book Man with a Ruble with Leonid Nevzlin
1993 - appointed Deputy Fuel and Energy Minister of Russia
1995 - MENATEP purchases shares of the oil company YUKOS, and the Murmansk Sea Steamship Line
April 20, 1996 -  became senior vice-president of YUKOS
June 4, 1996 - became Chairman of the Board of YUKOS
February 1997 - management structure of YUKOS changed. YUKOS and Rosprom sign a joint-management agreement.
August 1998 - “Rosprom-YUKOS” reorganized into company “YUKOS-Moskva". Khodorkovsky becomes Chairman of the governing board.
2001 - established the Open Russian Foundation with a group of YUKOS shareholders
October 25, 2003 - arrested at gunpoint in a Siberian airfield. Charged with tax fraud and evasion. Jailed.
November 3, 2003 - resigned as CEO of YUKOS
2004 - listed by Forbes Magazine as the wealthiest man in Russia and 16th wealthiest in the world; estimated to be worth over 15 billion U.S. dollars
December 19, 2004 - Yuganskneftegaz sold at forced auction to the unknown Baikal Finance Group. Baikal Finance Group later sold to state-controlled oil firm Rosneft
January 12, 2005 - transferred his majority stake in MENATEP, which controls YUKOS, to partner Leonid Nevzlin, who is currently based in Israel
February 10, 2005 - Khodorkovsky’s defense team rested in the presentation of their case
2005 -  Russian magazine Finans publishes list of country’s wealthiest persons. Khodorkovsky valued at $210 million.
September 23, 2005 - Appeal rejected, sentence reduced to 8 years
October 2005 - Transferred to a prison colony near Krasnokamensk in Chita Region. 

According to the Forbes 2006 rankings, Khordokovsky is now worth less than $500 million, only a few years after the magazine named him Russia's richest man.

Current hobbies: reading books, answering letters.

Married to his second wife Inna, they have three children- Anastasia, Ilya, and Gleb. Son Pavel, from first marriage, lives abroad.

Related articles:

Fighting off the Scum, Sergei Balashov, Russia Profile (Mar. 19, 2009)

Driving the Point Home, Sergei Balashov, Russia Profile (Feb. 25, 2009)

A Tentative Ending Russia Profile (June 27, 2005)
Khodorkovsky, The Dubious Martyr  The Moscow Times  (Jan. 14, 2005)
Russia's Prisoner  Wall Street Journal  CDI summary (Oct. 26, 2004)
The Destruction of Yukos  Jamestown Foundation Eurasia Daily Monitor  (Oct. 26, 2004)
The Criris of Liberalism in Russia Special to Vedomosti (Apr.26, 2004)

  Last updated March 23, 2009