Russia's Courts of Injustice: Why Only Protesters Pose a Threat to Putin's Rule

Alexey SAZONOV / AFP / Getty Images

A file picture taken on May 17, 2011, shows Russian ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky arriving at the courtroom in Moscow

Vladimir Putin will be sworn in as President of Russia on May 7, the victor of a vote whose integrity has been questioned by election observers in Russia and the world over. When challenged by citizens who are outraged by the questionable veracity of the elections it presides over, the Putin regime's favorite response is: "Take it to court!" But in every case the result is the same. The judge pronounces: "The court found no violations."

Those who are used to having independent judicial systems in their countries naturally assume that justice has been done. "The...

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