Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s mother, Marina Philippovna Khodorkovskaya, has visited her son in the penal colony where he is held in Segezha, in the far north of Russia. After her visit she was interviewed by local journalists.

During a 20 minute stop at the Petrozavodsk railway station Marina Philippovna told the assembled journalists that this year her son is lucky because his wife and children have a visit scheduled for June 27, meaning he can celebrate his 50^th birthday with them just one day after the day itself. She noted that Mikhail looked better than during her last visit, due to a short break from work, a so-called holiday, which enabled him to spend some time outdoors.

The topics they discussed during this visit, she said, included the recent departures from Russia of the economist Sergei Guriev and the former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist Garry Kasparov. Marina Philippovna told the journalists that her son commented that it is a very bad sign that people of that level of intelligence are leaving as they are the most needed by the Russian people.

Regarding the impending trials of Bolotnaya Square protesters, Marina Philippovna passed on the words of her son, who told her: “I wish for the guys who have fallen under the attack to be honest and not to be afraid of anything”. To be honest in front of society, in front of the nation, she added.

A video of the interview can be viewed in Russian here