Mikhail Khodorkovsky is expected to be released soon, the Russian president told reporters after the press conference marathon he held on December 19.

      According to the Kremlin, Khodorkovsky sent him a clemency request that will be satisfied.

      The former chief of the Yukos oil company was arrested in 2003 and convicted of tax evasion, fraud and other charges in two trials – in 2005 and 2010.

      Many have viewed the prosecution as a political one.

      The Yukos case was negatively perceived by the domestic business community and has damaged Russia’s reputation abroad.

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