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Igor YURGENS, vice-president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs:
The charges brought against Aleksey Pichugin were indeed very serious. But there are now strong doubts that Pichugin actually did commit the crimes. Reputable people involved in the trial claim that the prosecution obtained evidence through improper means. And during the case the prosecution clearly expected to win, in contrast to, for example, the case against Vyacheslav Ivankov . So I believe that an amnesty is unlikely. Pichugin's lawyers have now taken their appeal to the European court, but I do not think they will get the verdict thrown out, at least not in the next few years. And in addition, I do not see any real intervention on Europe's part.
Tamara MORSHCHAKOVA, adviser to the Russian Federation Constitutional Court:
It's odd that the verdict in Pichugin's case was never published. All we have in writing about the trial are a few press items. The papers usually report at length from the court in such high-profile cases. That is, almost nothing is known about Pichugin's trial. Those with a professional interest in the case simply have nothing to work with. That there were breaches of procedure is clear, simply because the defence team has taken the case to the court in Strasbourg. And you can only do that in matters of process. We now have to await that court's decision, so there is nothing more I can say.
From the author
After the Turks stormed Constantinople in 1453 their soldier-nomads wandered about the conquered city for days, tutting their tongues in wonder. Finally one of their leaders, as we would call him today, exclaimed in both envy and annoyance: "Damn them! They built this city as if they planned to live in it forever!"
Centuries on, if you gaze from above on the former Turkish capital you can see the Hellenic heritage in the architectural styles that radiate from the St Sophia Cathedral. Such is the power of the cultural and historical tradition, including the architectural, on which the city was founded.
The soldier was right. And we should always build as if we intend to stay forever. Justice, honest hard work, and a state at ease with itself are the bulwarks of any society that long outlives its founders. Or any "political project", as Russia's present-day political strategists would say with a smirk.
It is they who are laying the foundations for a new Russia. Will their brainchild outlive them? For these faceless figures inside the Kremlin have broken the back of our judicial system and turned it into a tool of political revenge. With Putin's knowledge, of course, and his active complicity.
The Russian court system has always been a lame duck in need of nursing and some "selective breeding". But to save themselves the bother, they simply hit it over the head with a brick. As Korovnikov finished off a hapless businessman.
For me personally, the question of Aleksey Pichugin's innocence was answered long ago. And I became increasingly convinced as I worked on this book. But I would not have put pen to paper had investigating officer Demidov not gone to see Korovnikov in jail after Pichugin was drugged on 14 July 2003.
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