Reuters. Putin trying to scare off protesters: jailed tycoon

President Vladimir Putin is increasingly trying to intimidate ordinary Russians into abandoning protests against him to keep his grip on power, jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky said.

In replies to written questions by Reuters, dictated to lawyers during prison visits, Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, accused Putin of resorting to political repression to try to reassert his authority after 14 months of protests.

He said such efforts were destined to fail and Putin was pushing Russia into an era of economic and political stagnation comparable to the rule of late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

"Opposition to the current regime is growing and will continue to grow ... The risks for the regime are constantly increasing," said Khodorkovsky, who was convicted of multi-million dollar tax evasion, fraud and money laundering.

He has always denied the charges, which he says were politically motivated.

Khodorkovsky, 49, has for years been one of the sharpest critics of Putin, who last year faced the biggest protests since he first rose to power in 2000.

The rallies have lost steam since Putin won a presidential election last March, after spending four years as prime minister, but his approval ratings have sunk.

The Kremlin denies clamping down on Putin's critics and has dismissed Khodorkovsky's criticisms in the past. But Western governments and human rights groups share some of his concerns.

Several opposition leaders face criminal charges over their business activities, for allegedly plotting mass disorder, or for crimes they deny committing. Since Putin's new term began last May, parliament has also passed a series of laws that are widely seen by critics as intended to stifle dissent.

Khodorkovsky said he was part of the opposition but no group had a program that fully reflected his views.

He said opposition activists facing charges should choose between admitting guilt, in the hope of more lenient sentencing, and trying to prove their innocence in Russian courts often criticized for political servility.

But fighting one's case was "a natural and inevitable stage of the protest," he said.