School Caught in Oil Tycoon's Misfortune

Russia Freezes Assets of Khodorkovsky-Funded Home Serving Orphans of Conflict

KORALOVO, Russia -- On the grounds of an 18th-century estate, Rita Dzgoyeva has found some refuge from her memories and a place to get a free, first-class education.

The 17-year-old was a hostage during the Beslan school siege in September 2004, and her mother and older sister were killed in the standoff's bloody end, which left 331 people dead.

Dzgoyeva, who still bears scars from shrapnel, is one of 135 students at a private boarding school here in the far suburbs of Moscow. Most are orphans, the offspring of Russian servicemen killed in action or the victims of terrorist attacks linked to the conflict in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya.

Government officials used to visit and marvel at the state-of-the-art school, built in the middle of the estate, and the student dormitories, which rival the fancy weekend homes that dot the surrounding countryside of rolling fields and woods. Regional governments from across Russia clamored to secure admission for children from their regions.

No more. The patron of the Podmoskovny Lyceum, as the school is called, is Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former oil tycoon who is serving an eight-year prison sentence for fraud and tax evasion following a prosecution that supporters said was politically motivated because he represented a threat to President Vladimir Putin's authority.

Khodorkovsky has been stripped of much of his wealth and his company, Yukos, has been largely dismantled. Now prosecutors are targeting his philanthropic projects. Earlier this month, the Russian prosecutor's office froze the school's assets, the prelude to what the school's directors -- Khodorkovsky's parents -- fear will be a full-scale legal assault to shut it down.

"They know very well that for Misha this is like a favorite baby," said Marina Khodorkovskaya, 71, using the diminutive for Mikhail to refer to her son, who is serving his prison term thousands of miles away in Siberia. "It's another attempt to take revenge."

She said she was bewildered that a state that has already seized billions of dollars worth of property from Yukos is now targeting a school that is helping children scarred by some of the country's worst tragedies. The school, Khodorkovskaya said, has not been told why its assets have been frozen.

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office confirmed that the school's assets were frozen but declined to comment further.

In March, prosecutors seized the bank accounts of Open Russia, a nongovernmental organization that Khodorkovsky founded to promote democracy and human rights. Starved of cash, the group was forced to close. The courts have rejected arguments that it is a separate entity and should not be a party to the case against Yukos.

The school is being funded by the Khodorkovsky Foundation in London, which is beyond the reach of Russian prosecutors, but the 250-acre piece of prime real estate is a fat target.

Khodorkovsky acquired a 99-year-lease on the estate in 1994 and created a home for children, who were bused to local schools. Three years ago, at a cost of $15 million, he opened a school on the grounds, as well as seven dormitories that could house as many as 250 children. Within months, he was arrested.