Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former Russian oil tycoon-turned-Kremlin foe who spent a decade in prison and now lives in exile, says fellow Kremlin critics should not boycott the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup, slated to kick off June 14 in Russia.
Russian aggression abroad, along with domestic human rights violations, have "obviously caused a serious split, both inside Russian society and in the West," said Khodorkovsky.
"There are thoughts about boycotting it, and thoughts about just turning a blind eye to everything happening in Russia during the event. But I think that boycotting the championship would be a big mistake if you think about teams going to Russia, and people and fans visiting the country," he said.
On the other hand, Khodorkovsky added, "I do believe Western leaders would be making a mistake if they were to visit the man who has created a fully authoritarian regime and has surrounded himself with a criminal clique."
"This would be a mistake, because it would be seen as encouragement, and Putin should not be encouraged," he said. "Therefore, there should be a very clear stance: 'Yes, we are visiting the Russian society, but we are not visiting the Kremlin criminal clique.'"
Human Rights Watch recently called on world leaders to boycott the tournament's opening ceremony unless Russian President Vladimir Putin takes steps to protect Syrian civilians.
Russia, which hosts the World Cup for the first time this year, is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's seven-year war, and the New York-based watchdog argued that Moscow's responsibility in the suffering of Syrian civilians should not be overlooked.
曾是俄罗斯石油大亨后来成为克里姆林宫批评者的霍多尔科夫斯基说，和他一样对俄罗斯政府持批评立场的人不应该抵制定于6月14号在俄罗斯开始的2018年足球世界杯比赛。霍多尔科夫斯基曾在监狱服刑10年，目前流亡在海外。
霍多尔科夫斯基说，俄罗斯在世界上咄咄逼人的行为以及在国内对人权的侵犯自然在俄罗斯社会内以及在西方国家导致人们对它看法的严重分歧。
霍多尔科夫斯基说：“有人想抵制，有人认为在足球世界杯举行期间应该对俄罗斯发生的一切都不关心。但是我认为，抵制足球世界杯将是一个严重错误，因为你要考虑到，前来俄罗斯的外国足球队以及世界各国的访客和粉丝。
不过他也补充说，如果西方国家领导人会见那个建立了完全独裁的政权并在他自己周围安放了一个犯罪集团的人，那也将是一个严重错误。
人权观察最近呼吁世界各国领导人抵制足球世界杯的开幕式，除非俄罗斯总统普京采取保护叙利亚平民的措施。
今年将第一次主办足球世界杯的俄罗斯是叙利亚总统阿萨德的关键支持者。叙利亚的内战已经进行了7年。人权观察说，绝不能对莫斯科对叙利亚平民遭受苦难应承担的责任熟视无睹。