The arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky during the parliamentary election campaign in 2003 was, among other things, a signal to Russian entrepreneurs: refrain from politics, or else. Mr. Khodorkovsky, then Russia’s richest man, donated millions to educational, philanthropic, and charitable programs, as well as to political parties he supported—the liberal Yabloko party and the Union of Rightist Forces, both of which happened to be in opposition to Vladimir Putin. The signal was understood: apart from being shut out from the media, denied registration, and barred from elections, the Russian opposition has also, since 2003, been left almost penniless. No businesspeople are willing to repeat Mr. Khodorkovsky’s fate...
