Germans, Frenchmen and Englishmen can say of themselves: "I am the state." I cannot say that. In Russia only the people in the Kremlin can say that. All other citizens are nothing more than human material with which they can do all kinds of things.

In Russia no one is surprised when an official accepts a bribe while at the same time portraying the state as some sacred entity to which the bourgeois should pay homage. This all sounds absurd. But for Russians it is completely normal.

The worst thing that can happen to Russia is indifference in the West - that is, if it were interested in nothing but oil and gas.

Everyone in Russia must awaken the citizen within himself.

I am always surprised when I watch the weather report on German television. First they show the map of Europe and then the camera moves to the right. Then comes Kiev, then Moscow and then everything stops. This seems to be the West's view of us - of a wild Russia that begins past Moscow, a place one prefers not to see. This is a big mistake. The West must pay closer attention.

The Khodorkovsky case is typical of the "oprichnina" - the system of oppression.

As a storyteller I was influenced by the Moscow underground, where it was common to be apolitical.