As you know, we have been active on the issue of rule of law and democracy in Russia for years. We recently released a link to our mini-documentary and an op/ed highlighting the case of Russia's most prominent political prisoner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

We want to make you aware that in the wake of Russia's elections yesterday, The New York Times is reporting that outgoing President Dimitri Medvedev has ordered the prosecutor-general to review the legality of Mr. Khodorkovsky's conviction along with some 30 other cases. We think it is not a coincidence, as Mikhail's release has been one of the key demands of the democracy protesters.

While we do not want to be naively optimistic, we hope this is a sign that the Kremlin is prepared to make meaningful moves in the direction of reform. If so, we welcome it. There can be no doubt that the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky has to be part of any move toward true democracy in Russia.