Pavel Petrovich Ivlev is a Russian lawyer, and now a political refugee in the USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Ivlev advised Yukos

YUKOS

OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" was a petroleum company in Russia which, until 2003, was controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a number of other prominent Russian businessmen. After Yukos was bankrupted, Khodorkovsky was convicted and sent to prison.Yukos headquarters was located in...

 and its former Chairman and CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky is a Russian prisoner, considered by some - such as Amnesty International - to have been imprisoned for political reasons, jailed until 2016 and a former Russian oligarch and businessman...

 and was charged by the Russian authorities as part of the controversial case against Khodorkovsky and other senior Yukos executives, in the course of which violations of human rights and of the rule of law have been reported.

Education

Ivlev graduated in law from Lomonosov Moscow State University

Moscow State University

Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...

 in 1993 and later continued his legal studies at Columbia University Summer Law School in Amsterdam and at Queen Mary, University of London

Queen Mary, University of London

Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...

.

Russia

In 1997 Ivlev became a partner in a Moscow-based international law firm, ALM Feldmans, which was effectively destroyed by the broader attack on Yukos and its advisers in 2005. A district court in Moscow issued an arrest warrant for Ivlev in 2005 on charges of embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion, identical to those against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, who were charged with the same in 2007. Ivlev had refused to give false incriminating evidence against his clients. On 15 February 2005 the Moscow City Court overruled the Basmanny District Court in favour of Ivlev, but that same court upheld a Basmanny District Court arrest warrant in December 2005. Having witnessed the conduct of the case against Yukos so far, Ivlev remained in New York for his own safety. When his wife arrived with the couple's children at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport to fly to New York she was detained on suspicion of drug trafficking. Though she was later released without charge, they missed their flight.

United States

Ivlev is Chairman of the Committee for Russian Economic Freedom, which he founded in 2009 to campaign for "free markets, free people and free ideas in Russia". He is also executive director of the Institute of Modern Russia. He is a member of the International Bar Association

International Bar Association

The International Bar Association is an international association of lawyers and lawyers' associations. The IBA's stated purpose is to promote an exchange of information between legal associations worldwide, support the independence of the judiciary and the right of lawyers to practice their...

 and of the U.S.-Russia Business Council. His campaigning activities gained attention in 2010 when he sent a mass email to participants in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is the main annual international economic and business forum convened in Russia. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was established in 1997. Since 2006 SPIEF is held under the patronage of the President of the Russian Federation. The...

, which ended with a warning that, "As you listen to Russian officials and businessmen discuss potential gold mines in investing in Russia, be mindful that there are numerous land mines as well."