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December 14, 2011
Is Prokhorov's candidacy for real? Amid the coverage, some opposition figures say he's a Kremlin stooge
Atlantic Yards Report
Nets' owner Mikhail Prokhorov's phony candidacy for Russia's presidency is drawing praise from phony-ish tabloids and skepticism from those more in the know.
Is Russian billionaire (and Nets majority owner) Mikhail Prokhorov's (NBA-sanctioned) foray into politics a Kremlin-sanctioned play? Amid all the coverage, that's a minority view, but it's one taken by some respected opposition figure and backed by some circumstantial evidence.
The New York Daily News, in an editorial yesterday, saluted Prokhorov:
The unthinkable appears to be happening to Vladimir Putin: A formidable figure will challenge the Russian strongman in that country’s 2012 presidential election.
Raise a glass of Stoli to adopted New York billionaire and Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov for having the guts even to say that he’ll try to dethrone the ruthless would-be leader-for-life.
What if he's a fake?
But Newsweek/Daily Beast correspondent Anna Nemtsova asked on 12/12/11, Is Russia’s Mikhail Prokhorov a Fake Challenger for Vladimir Putin?:
On Monday they finally clashed. Prokhorov, who owns the New Jersey Nets, announced that he would run for president against Putin, an act that means he recognizes the current prime minister as a legitimate candidate. [Boris] Nemtsov and other opposition leaders, meanwhile, are calling for Russians to take to the streets next week and demand Putin’s resignation.
Flirting with a crowd of journalists this afternoon, a playful smile on his lips, Prokhorov said he had made “the most serious decision” of his life. The oligarch—chosen by the Kremlin in June to lead the newly created pseudoliberal Right Cause party before being ousted in September—would become a candidate in the presidential election in March.
NoLandGrab: Prokhorov's candidacy is as real as Bruce Ratner's promise of 10,000 permanent jobs and Proky's guarantee that the Nets would make the playoffs last year.
Related coverage...
NY Post, Nets owner's Russian presidency run has Brooklyn talking
Some folks are less sanguine than the Daily News about Prokhorov's candidacy.
Daniel Goldstein, co-founder of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, which opposes the Nets plans to build an NBA arena in Brooklyn as part of the Atlantic Yards project, didn’t hold back his feeling about Prokhorov.
“It is extremely troubling that the potential next president of Russia is the beneficiary of eminent domain in America and one of the most corrupt land grabs we've ever seen in New York City,” he said. “I really feel for the Russians having to choose between a kleptocrat and a tyrant."
Developer Bruce Ratner, who is partnering with Prokhorov in building the Barclays Center for the Nets, declined comment on Prokhorov running for president of Russia, and Nets brass also remained tight lipped about their owner's political aspirations.
Posted by eric at December 14, 2011 11:44 AM