MOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - If Vladimir Putin remains Russia's paramount leader, hopes for reform will be extinguished and Russia's brightest people will emigrate in droves, former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky told Reuters from jail.
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Following are details about Khodorkovsky:
WHAT IS KHODORKOVSKY'S BACKGROUND?
Khodorkovsky, born on June 26, 1963, studied at Moscow's prestigious Mendeleyev Chemistry Institute. As a student during the last years of the Soviet Union, he started to trade goods.
Khodorkovsky became one of Russia's most powerful businessmen by buying state assets cheaply and trading commodities after the Soviet Union fell in 1991.
His empire, which at its height produced more oil than OPEC member Qatar, was based around oil giant Yukos and MENATEP, one of the first private banks in post-Soviet Russia. He was ranked as Russia's richest man.
Vilified by minority shareholders as one of the country's most opaque businesses during Russia's 1998 financial crisis, Yukos went on to become Russia's biggest oil producer and the country's biggest private company with a market value of more than ${esc.dollar}40 billion at its peak.
WHY WAS HE ARRESTED?
Khodorkovsky was arrested on Oct. 25, 2003, in Siberia by armed agents from the Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB.
The arrest raised fears the Kremlin would try to regain control of raw materials companies sold off in the 1990s, sending shock waves through Russia's stock market as investors -- including major U.S. and European funds -- dumped Yukos shares.
Kremlin critics say his arrest marked a turning point in Putin's 2000-2008 presidency by giving hardliners the upper hand and ultimately increasing their control over the economy.
Putin supporters also say it was a watershed because it asserted the Kremlin's supremacy over a powerful group of businessmen -- known as oligarchs -- who made fortunes in the chaos of the 1990s.
Khodorkovsky says he is a victim of corrupt officials under Putin who feared his political ambitions and wanted to carve up his business empire. The government says he was prosecuted according to the law for his misdeeds and sentenced fairly.
Supporters say he is Russia's most famous political prisoner, arrested to send a signal to other businessmen over dissent. Khodorkovsky had begun funding political parties other than the main pro-Kremlin party, and he angered the Kremlin by suggesting some oil deals involving the state were corrupt.
Opponents say he lost a battle for influence because he did not see how the political climate had changed. Critics also say his tactics were among the most aggressive of the oligarchs.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS ASSETS?
After Khodorkovsky's arrest, tax police filed huge back-tax claims against Yukos. The Moscow-based firm, unable to pay, eventually filed for bankruptcy and its production assets, which included some of the best oil fields in Russia, were sold off at state-run auctions.
Russian state-controlled oil firm Rosneft bought the largest production assets, including Yuganskneftegaz, making Rosneft Russia's biggest oil producer.
The chairman of the board at Rosneft is Igor Sechin, a deputy prime minister in charge of the energy industry who previously worked as Putin's deputy chief of staff in the Kremlin during the Yukos affair.
Yukos's other two main production assets, Tomskneft and Samaraneftegaz, were purchased by Rosneft in 2007 at state-run auctions. In 2007, Rosneft sold half of Tomskneft to Gazprom Neft , the oil unit of state-controlled gas giant Gazprom .
WHERE IS KHODORKOVSKY?
Khodorkovsky is in prison colony No. 7 in the town of Segezha, near the Finnish border about 900 km (550 miles) north of Moscow. He has also spent time behind bars in Chita in Siberia.
In his first trial, Khodorkovsky and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, were sentenced to nine years in prison, later reduced to eight, for fraud and tax evasion. They both pleaded not guilty.
More charges were brought against them and, found guilty of money-laundering and theft in 2010, their sentences were extended until 2017, though it was reduced to 2016 on appeal. They both pleaded not guilty.
If they are released in late 2016, they will have served 13 years in jail. Khodorkovsky's parole application has been rejected.
WHAT DOES RUSSIA SAY?
Putin, who now serves as prime minister, appears visibly irritated when asked questions about Khodorkovsky.
Just before Khodorkovsky's second trial, Putin said the tycoon belonged in jail.
"A thief must be in jail," Putin said in December, quoting from a popular Soviet-era film whose hero is a tough cop.
Putin, who compares Khodorkovsky to U.S. gangster Al Capone, has repeatedly suggested the tycoon was behind a series of murders. Khodorkovsky's lawyers say the allegations are ridiculous.
President Dmitry Medvedev has taken a less emotional tone: he said on May 18 that Khodorkovsky's release from jail would not be dangerous for society. (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
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