The Russia Conundrum: How the West Fell for Putin's Power Gambit--and How to Fix It

by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Martin Sixsmith (With)

Overview

An urgent analysis of the battle between Russia and the West and an exposé of Putin’s Russia, by a former Kremlin insider.

"I'm a fairly calm fellow; I don't usually get wound up about things. But I was, let's say, concerned when I tuned into the Moscow Echo radio station and heard that the Kremlin had put a price on my head. The announcement didn't quite say 'dead or alive'. But it came close..." —Mikhail Khodorkovsky, March 2021

Mikhail Khodorkovsky has seen behind the mask of Vladimir Putin. Once an oil tycoon and the richest man in Russia, Khodorkovsky spoke out against the corruption of Putin's regime—and was punished by the Kremlin, stripped of his entire wealth and jailed for over ten years.

Now freed, working as a pro-democracy campaigner in enforced exile, Khodorkovsky brings us the insider's battle to save his country's soul. Offering an urgent analysis of what has gone wrong with Putin, The Russia Conundrum maps the country's rise and fall against Khodorkovsky's own journey, from Soviet youth to international oil executive, powerful insider to political dissident, and now a high-profile voice seeking to reconcile East and West.

With unparalleled insight, written with Sunday Times bestselling author Martin Sixsmith, The Russia Conundrum exposes the desires and damning truths of Putin's "mafia clan," and provides an answer to the West on how it must challenge the Kremlin—in order to pave the way for a better future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250285607
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	65 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

In the early 2000s, Mikhail Khodorkovsky was one of the wealthiest men in Russia, the head of the giant Yukos oil company, ranked 16th on Forbes list of world billionaires. But his pro-democracy, anti-corruption views led to a clash with President Vladimir Putin, who had him arrested in 2003. Convicted on politically-motivated fraud charges, Khodorkovsky spent ten years in Putin's prison camps, recognized by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. Since his release in December 2013, Khodorkovsky has lived in exile in Switzerland and in the UK. He is the founder of the Open Russia movement, promoting political reform in Russia, including free and fair elections, the protection of journalists and activists, the rule of law and media independence. He has been described by The Economist as "the Kremlin's leading critic-in-exile."

Martin Sixsmith studied Russian at Oxford, Leningrad and the Sorbonne. He was a Slavics Tutor at Harvard and wrote his postgraduate thesis about Russian poetry. From 1980 to 1997 he was the BBC's correspondent in Moscow, Washington, Brussels and Warsaw. From 1997 to 2002 he worked for the British government as Director of Communications and Press Secretary to several cabinet ministers. He is now a writer, presenter and journalist. He is the author of nonfiction titles including Russia, Putin's Oil, The Litvinenko File and The War of Nerves. His bestselling 2009 book, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, was adapted for film and became the multiple Oscar-nominated Philomena, starring Steve Coogan and Judi Dench.

Martin Sixsmith is a bestselling author, television and radio presenter and journalist.

He began working at the BBC in 1980 as a foreign correspondent, reporting from Moscow during the end of the Cold War, the era of Perestroika, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In 1997, he went to work for the government of Tony Blair as Director of Communications and Press Secretary to Harriet Harman and then to Alistair Darling. He then served as Director of Communication at the Department for Transport, Local Government, and the Regions.

Sixsmith is the author of two political novels, Spin and I Heard Lenin Laugh. He has also published an account of the Litvinenko murder, The Litvinenko File, and made a documentary film in 2008 exploring the legacy of the KGB in today's Russia and the FSB.

His book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee was turned into a hugely successful film in 2013, starring Judi Dench.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction

Part One: A Great Experiment
1. Hopes and Aspirations
2. An Open Society
3. A Turning Point
4. Gambling Big
5. The Humbling

Part Two: Enter The Strongman
6. All Things to All Men
7. The Confrontation
8. An Anatomy of Corruption
9. Putin Unbound
10. The Trial
11. Arrested Development
12. Gulag

Part Three: East And West
13. Enemy at the Gates
14. Managed Democracy
15. International Operations
16. What Is Russian for Fake News?
17. Stop Thinking You Can Be Safe with the Bear
18. Expansionist Dreams
19. A Blunt Instrument
20. You Are Not Safe
21. Making Martyrs
22. A Brighter Future

About the Authors
Acknowledgements
Picture Credits
Index

Editorial Reviews

09/12/2022

Kremlin hardliners, Western liberals, and ex-president Boris Yeltsin all take heat in this revealing if self-serving account of post-communist Russia. Former Yukos Oil CEO Khodorkovsky argues that Yeltsin, under the influence of the “Chicago Boys,” a group of “young technocrats led by Harvard University’s Jeffrey Sachs,” wrecked the country’s economic infrastructure while creating just enough opportunities for a handful of risk-oriented entrepreneurs to succeed. As Yeltsin sought reelection in 1996, leading businessmen, Khordorkovsky included, advanced the Russian government $1.8 billion; in return, Yeltsin agreed to revise the laws on state industries, paving the way for Khodorkovsky to buy Yukos, then a flailing state-owned company. By cracking down on theft and mismanagement within Yukos, Khodorkovsky writes, he recast it “as an open, transparent, rules-based entity, capable of matching Western standards in all areas.” Though Khodorkovsky believed he had the magic formula for ushering Russia into the new millennium, Vladimir Putin—who became “acting president” following Yeltsin’s resignation on New Year’s Eve 1999—disagreed. A power struggle between liberal reformers and “Putin’s cronies,” who used their businesses “to challenge the West rather than to strengthen cooperation with it,” ensued, leading to Khodorkovsky’s 2003 arrest and 10-year imprisonment. Though the author clearly has axes to grind and builds his case largely on anecdotal evidence, this is a valuable resource for understanding how modern Russia came to be. Photos. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

A disturbing account that peels back the layers of the Putin regime to reveal the corruption and violence at the core.…Authoritative, essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the frightening breadth and depth of Putin’s methods.” —Kirkus (starred)

“[A] valuable resource for understanding how modern Russia came to be.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 2022-08-31
A disturbing account that peels back the layers of the Putin regime to reveal the corruption and violence at the core.

Once a wealthy oligarch and a player in Moscow politics, Khodorkovsky ran afoul of Putin in 2003 and spent 10 years in prison before leaving the country in exile. In this remarkable book, co-written by British journalist Sixsmith, he interweaves the story of Putin’s rise with a personal account of his own fall. The book could have easily turned into a conspiratorial rant, but the text remains focused. Khodorkovsky was an excellent student, studying chemical engineering, and his entrepreneurial streak allowed him to take advantage of the convulsions of the Gorbachev era, first with a bank and later an oil company, Yukos. His wealth led to close contact with Boris Yeltsin, and he even served as an economic adviser. When Putin took over, Khodorkovsky was initially hopeful, but he soon realized the danger of his authoritarian ambitions. Khodorkovsky’s criticisms of Putin, and of the level of corruption in the inner circle, led to his arrest and decade in prison. “You don’t even need to fall out with them to be targeted,” he writes. “They can simply take a fancy to your business or your property. And once they have you in their sights, there is no way out. You have no one to turn to, no one to help you—not the law, not the courts, not the media, not your bosses or your neighbors.” Khodorkovsky eventually fled to London, where he founded the Open Russia movement to promote liberal reform. For this, he earned a price on his head. He devotes the closing chapter to his hope that Russia might eventually become more democratic, although this sounds more idealistic than likely, and Khodorkovsky admits that Putin’s rhetoric of returning Russia to the glory days of Stalin’s time strikes a popular chord.

Authoritative, essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the frightening breadth and depth of Putin’s methods.

Kirkus Reviews