One wonders why exactly "western" media and politicians are up in arms about the new guilty verdict against the former Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
The man, as most of the other oligarchs, is of course guilty of stealing the Russian natural riches from the Russian people, of tax evasion and even more serious criminal stuff. The "western" media know this.
Even a cable from the Moscow embassy reported that the first trial against him was went as it should:
An observer for the International Bar Association stated his belief that the trial is being conducted fairly.
The first judgment against Khodorkovsky as well as the current second one are fair, legal and just.
What irks the "west" is that especially those oligarchs opposed to the democratically elected Putin administration ran into trouble. Says the cable:
It is not lost on either elite or mainstream Russians that the GOR has applied a double standard to the illegal activities of 1990s oligarchs; if it were otherwise, virtually every other oligarch would be on trial alongside Khodorkovskiy and Lebedev. There is a widespread understanding that Khodorkovskiy violated the tacit rules of the game: if you keep out of politics, you can line your pockets as much as you desire.
The "western" elites hate democracy. They had hoped to have an authoritarian Khodorkovsky as the head of Russia. A criminal, like Jelzin, who would sell out the Russian resources for nothing but some handsome bribes.
Unfortunately for them, democracy still rules in Russia. Unlike the people of the United States, who's government in Washington is wholesome owned by Wall Street, the Russians, even while tolerating some stealing, will still fight against being also ruled by those thieves.