The West doesn't have to love us. In fact, we should ask ourselves more often why people are so suspicious of us. After all, the West isn't a charity organization. How have we been perceived for centuries? As a huge, warlike realm ruled by despots - first by the czars and then Bolsheviks. Why should anyone have loved us? If we want to be accepted, we have to do something in return. And it's an art that we have yet to master.

As someone who grew up there, I say: The Chechen Republic must remain part of Russia. Everything else is negotiable.

Soviet-era nostalgia has strong support among the people. But not among the elite and, in my opinion, not with the president. We are not interested in keeping remnants of the communist era alive.

Parties can't be artificially assembled at the Kremlin.

When the Soviet Union was dissolved, most of us didn't even have the feeling that the country was falling apart. We thought we would continue with our lives as in the past, but as good neighbors.

The main problem is that many support the United Russia Party without even agreeing with its ideology - or even having an ideology of their own.

I was on Khodorkovsky's payroll myself for ten years. I'm biased because I respect him.