The trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is coming to an end, with a guilty verdict a near certainty. Actually, a guilty verdict has been a near certainty from the word go: conviction rates in Russia are upwards of 95 percent. With the structure saying one thing and the Kremlin saying the same thing, maybe the biggest surprise is that it has taken so long to get there.

The prosecution has asked for a ten-year sentence, and they will probably get it. According to the news on my radio station this morning, the judge’s latest ruling reproduced the prosecution’s brief word for word. Including typographical errors.