Seated in a corridor of the five-star hotel's lobby, former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher and his advisor Alexander Rahr put their heads together with Khodorkovsky's lawyers and Alexandra Hildebrandt, head of a Berlin Wall museum.
They decided Genscher, who was trusted by the Germans, supported by Chancellor Angela Merkel and well known to the Russians, in part due to the role he played in negotiations on German reunification, would launch a behind-the-scenes diplomatic offensive.
It was the start of a concerted German effort that reached from Genscher to the top of the Chancellery, to apply pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to free Khodorkovsky, who had been jailed in 2003 on fraud and tax evasion charges but who was considered by many in the West to be a political prisoner.
Ultimately, Khodorkovsky would owe the timing of his freedom to Putin's determination to clean up Russia's image ahead of February's Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, meaning it made more sense to free him than to keep him in jail until his scheduled release next August.
But it would be Genscher who would negotiate with the Kremlin and pass on a crucial message to Khodorkovsky in prison that he should ask for clemency on humanitarian grounds due to his mother's ill health.
The German role proved advantageous to Putin as well: when Khordokovsky was finally freed he was flown straight to Berlin on a private jet arranged by Genscher.
They decided Genscher, who was trusted by the Germans, supported by Chancellor Angela Merkel and well known to the Russians, in part due to the role he played in negotiations on German reunification, would launch a behind-the-scenes diplomatic offensive.
It was the start of a concerted German effort that reached from Genscher to the top of the Chancellery, to apply pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to free Khodorkovsky, who had been jailed in 2003 on fraud and tax evasion charges but who was considered by many in the West to be a political prisoner.
Ultimately, Khodorkovsky would owe the timing of his freedom to Putin's determination to clean up Russia's image ahead of February's Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, meaning it made more sense to free him than to keep him in jail until his scheduled release next August.
But it would be Genscher who would negotiate with the Kremlin and pass on a crucial message to Khodorkovsky in prison that he should ask for clemency on humanitarian grounds due to his mother's ill health.
The German role proved advantageous to Putin as well: when Khordokovsky was finally freed he was flown straight to Berlin on a private jet arranged by Genscher.