It's hard to be an oligarch in Russia

That, at least, must be what Mikhail Khodorkovsky is thinking these days, as his trial for tax fraud and other nasty crimes winds down. Just check out this AP report (via BusinessWeek): During closing arguments, the prosecutor asked for the maximum 10-year sentence.

As the Cranky Economist has said before, it's not a matter of whether Khodorkovsky is completely innocent. Chances are he's not. But by the same token, surely the Russian justice system is in trouble when the only criminals who happen to get prosecuted are the ones who happen to be contributing to Vladimir Putin's electoral opponents.

Who's suffering? As the AP article suggests, the Russian people. This transparently political case has scared off many investors and roiled the Russian oil sector just at a time when record crude prices should be boosting the economy. "Justice" evidently doesn't come cheap.