If billionaire businessmen in Russia know what is good for them they will stay out of politics - that is the message delivered by the prolonged imprisonment of the former oil and gas oligarch, Mikhail Kodorkovsky.

So where does that leave Alexander Lebedev?

He is vastly wealthy thanks to investments in banking, aviation and property. He's also building a media empire - he part-owns the liberal Moscow newspaper the Novaya Gazeta, one of the last media outlets critical of the Kremlin, as well the British newspapers the Independent and the Evening Standard.

HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur asked him how carefully he feels he has to tread in Mr Putin's Russia.

You can watch the full discussion on BBC World News on Tuesday 22nd March 2011 at 0430, 0930, 1530, and 2130 GMT and on BBC News Channel at 0430 and 2330.

Follow Hardtalk on Twitter to find out who is coming up on the programme.