Why 1980s Oxford holds the key to Britain’s ruling class FT Context
From Partygate to Brexit, many of today’s political dramas can be traced back to the leading players’ student days
Soon after Mikhail Khodorkovsky's private jet landed at a Siberian airport in 2003, a convoy of dark vans arrived on the tarmac.
Masked Russian special forces agents stormed the cabin, pushing down doors and ordering passengers to put their "weapons on the floor or we'll shoot".
The richest man in Russia was swiftly arrested and sent to Moscow to face charges of fraud, tax evasion, and other economic crimes.
It was the start of what would be a rapid fall from grace for the head of the country's largest oil company, Yukos.
Khodorkovsky had made his fortune in the 1990s when his bank Menatep acquired shares in companies that were privatised at cheaper prices. A decade later he was estimated to be worth $26 billion.
His vast wealth afforded him a life of luxury, the ire of the Russian public and the freedom to fund any political party of his choosing.
It also enabled him to openly oppose the newly elected President Vladimir Putin. And that's exactly what Khodorkovsky did.
Just seven months before his arrest, the oligarch went head to head with Putin at a televised meeting at the Kremlin.
The billionaire challenged Russia's leader, accusing government officials of taking huge bribes, as some of the wealthiest businessman in the country watched on.
Putin was reportedly livid. As the meeting wrapped up, he responded with a threat: a takeover of Khodorkovsky's company.
What is an oligarch? The circle of businessmen who made their wealth after the fall of the Soviet Union
Where did the young Kingsley Amis learn to turn class differences into a source of biting comedy? For years, the American paperback edition of Lucky Jim carried on its cover the following blurb from Arthur Mizener: “No one has been so funny in this vein since Evelyn Waugh was at his best.” While Amis has consistently acknowledged the influence of Waugh, he has also been careful not to overemphasize it. “I’m flattered,” he said in 1985, “but the analogy is misleading. Waugh wrote very elegant comedy. His people spoke beautifully. Compared with his works, mine look like grim documentaries.”
Dave also sends along this: Amis (Pronounced “Ames”) Centenary
