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

by Mikhail Khodorkovsky

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.

Genres: Russia, Nonfiction, Politics, History, Contemporary, Current Affairs, Biography

Hardcover

First published September 1, 2022

About the author

Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (Russian: Михаил Борисович Ходорковский), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman and opposition activist, now residing in London. In 2003, Khodorkovsky was believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia, with a fortune estimated to be worth $15 billion, and was ranked 16th on Forbes list of billionaires. He had worked his way up the Komsomol apparatus, during the Soviet years, and started several businesses during the period of glasnost and perestroika in the late 1980s. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in the mid-1990s, he accumulated considerable wealth by obtaining control of a number of Siberian oil fields unified under the name Yukos, one of the major companies to emerge from the privatization of state assets during the 1990s (a scheme known as "Loans for Shares").

In 2001, Khodorkovsky founded Open Russia, a reform-minded organization intending to "build and strengthen civil society" in the country. In October 2003, he was arrested by Russian authorities and charged with fraud. The government under Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, then froze shares of Yukos shortly thereafter on tax charges. Putin's government took further actions against Yukos, leading to a collapse of the company's share price and the evaporation of much of Khodorkovsky's wealth. In May 2005, he was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison. In December 2010, while he was still serving his sentence, Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were further charged with and found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering, Khodorkovsky's prison sentence was extended to 2014. After Hans-Dietrich Genscher lobbied for his release, Putin pardoned Khodorkovsky, releasing him from jail on 20 December 2013.

There was widespread concern internationally that the trials and sentencing were politically motivated. The trial was criticized abroad for the lack of due process. Khodorkovsky lodged several applications with the European Court of Human Rights, seeking redress for alleged violations by Russia of his human rights. In response to his first application, which concerned events from 2003 to 2005, the court found that several violations were committed by the Russian authorities in their treatment of Khodorkovsky. Despite these findings, the court ultimately ruled that the trial was not politically motivated, but rather "that the charges against him were grounded in 'reasonable suspicion'". He was considered to be a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.

Reviews

[Alex Reinhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insight into Russia, a unique perspective. Rather oversimplified from a geopolitical perspective. Khordorkovsky is intent on pointing out the corruption within, but smoothly overlooks the 1996 election, and the egregious corruption when it's pushed by the West.

Lastly, it's very heavy on the 'I only want what's best for Russia.' While this may be believable given his current state and mindset, Khordorkovsky fails to address his actions in the 80s and 90s. It would be interesting and refreshing to see any form of self reflection or regret on his behalf.

[Wendelle]

This book is a very instructive lesson on the recent history of Russia and the explanatory context for Putin's vise-like grip over the state, from the unique and exclusive vantage point of Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Mr. Khodorkovsky has special insight into the politics of Russia because he was once a member of the well-heeled 90's oligarchs that benefited from the liberalization of Russia, came to lead entire industries of natural resources, and who could phone Putin at any time and be granted an instantaneous audience with him. He was the billionaire leader of Yukos Oil, at one time the richest man in Russia, and the founder of nonprofit OpenRussia that aimed to teach and grow democratic civic-mindedness in young Russians.

In a way, Mr. Khodorkovsky's dramatic Shakespearean fate embodies the fate of Russia-- maturing as a young university student towards the era of Mr. Gorbachev's perestroika, he was ebullient with hope and optimism for the coming pro-Western liberalization of Russia, he was propelled upwards to billionaire status after buying and restructuring the de-nationalized oil company Yukos, only to come to loggerheads with the Putin regime and spending ten years (!) in a Siberian prison and camp from what he contends to be fabricated charges.

In a similar way, according to Mr. Khodorkovsky, a lot of Russian young people were welcoming the democratization of Russia after the long reign of the Soviet leaders. However, the flush of prosperity that was anticipated to follow democratization did not materialize. Instead, due largely to the large-scale failed experimentation of the brash American economic advisers led by Jeffrey Sachs, a rapid injection of de-nationalization and 'shock therapy capitalism' was prescribed to Russia. This led to ill-advised schemes, such as declaring all citizens as shareholders of Russian industries and distributing a few vouchers to each, and tearing apart organized structures of industry so they can be privatized and sold piecemeal. The voucher system was wrong because each Russian citizen only received a few roubles' worth of a share, and they ended up, reasonably, selling away their provisioned birthright for a more tangible amount of money. The piecemeal privatization was wrong because the system of production was disrupted altogether, as separate parts of the system, such as mining or production or transportation, ended up in different hands and the activities of industry could not be coordinated. Because privatization was accelerated, Russian industries were devalued and vultures came in to feast. Corporations swept in to buy vouchers of ordinary people, until they amassed majority shares of Russia's core industries for wildly low price. Segregated privatization led to minority shareholder companies holding the company hostage, unless they are bought out at exorbitant price or some other cunning scheme. With this mindset of selfish extraction and 'shock therapy', Russia's economy plunged especially with regards to the experience of the regular people. People saw their pensions and bank savings wiped out, their wages deflated. Mr. Khodorkovsky seems to have dipped his hands in this situation himself--he paid $309 million for the Yukos oil company that is now priced $3.5 billion, although one could argue he helmed the company to its current valuation. Since the price of household items were no longer pegged or pre-arranged, they could now go in freefall. Especially given the crash of 1998, many Russians were understandably disenchanted with their new economic paradigm. So is the esteemed economist Jeffrey Sachs directly to blame for a lot of the problems of Russia today? I would just say I'm surprised to learn of his role.

Mr. Khodorkovsky notes that in times like that, Russia's future, whether leaning towards democratisation or a succumb to tradition of autocratisation, a single person can have outsized influence in determining its pathway. At this crossroads, he notes, Russia's future was on the edge of a flip coin. It was then determined in a New Year's broadcast where an apologetic Boris Yeltsin announces the succession of Vladimir Putin. Putin, according to Mr. Khodorkovsky's account, assumed a face of liberal sympathies but even from the beginning aimed to restore the power and glory of his FSB cronies, the FSB being the demasculated descendant of the KGB that was currently acting as the mediator between local governments and crime operators. With Putin's rise, says Mr. Khodorkovsky, governance became a system of patronage flowing from Putin, with his corrupt cronies running an embezzlement plot while getting their cut in the process. Putin's government came to resemble a mafia 'family' that protected their own, but tainted each member with acts of bribery that ensured their loyalty was tight. According to Mr. Khodorkovsky, industry in Russia withered as Putin's cronies can come in and claim any business they like, and have the original owners arrested, until they sign off their property to the new claimants.

Thus, in Mr. Khodorkovsky's view, Russia is in disarray despite the richness of its natural resources and the skill levels of its people, because of the lack of transparency in governance and the culture of grift emanating from the highest levels of government.

All these lessons and observations are gleaned from Mr. Khodorkovsky's book. Of course, this carry the flavor of his opinions.

His opinion is noteworthy because his suffering has backed his beliefs-- he spent ten years in incarceration. He went through spells of 'dry' hunger strikes, wherein he neither ate nor drank liquids, and his blood thickened and his blood pressure rose to dangerous levels. He had to survive prison culture. Even now, he says, his life is not safe, as Putin put a price on his head. He thinks he has not escaped the long arm of poisoning from the FSB.

[Maryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michail Khodorkovsky is one of the most well known representatives of the Russian opposition in the exile.
After graduating from Mendeleev Russian University of Chemistry and Technology he at first started a small business with a few friends, ultimately have succeeded in becoming one of the wealthiest businessman in the post Soviet Union country.
In this book he shares his story of rise and fall during those years. As we know Khodorkovsky eventually ends up in prison, sentenced for ten years on fabricated occasions.
As a someone who have had a front raw view on the devision of power in Putin’s Russia he shares many interesting insights.
One of the things felt strange to me, is that I thought that Michail Khdorkovsky would doubtfully become one of the first oligarchs of Russia in the nineties, by being as completely innocent as he portrays himself. I could be wrong.
On a different account in this book, there is a moment, when Michail is describing his early relationship with back then new president of Russia Volodimir Putin. He says that when the former was making some audacious comments about power dynamics in the country, him, Michail, because he genuinely liked Putin at first, was giving him the benefit of the doubt, thinking that Putin didn’t really mean that. Michail is an exceptionally clever man, dealing with the cutthroat individuals all the time in the post Soviet Russia, I don’t see how he could be naïve as well.
To me this book felt more like a memoir, a very interesting one, with some of Khodorkovsky’s ideas of how to restore, or build more precisely, the democracy that was stomped before it could even develop into something, in the country that he truly loves.

[MJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Khodirkovsky's own story about becoming the richest man in Russia to an enemy of Putin and the state. It's a take on Russian history that I've never heard before. He isn't just analyzing history he tried to bring Russia into the western trade and economy and then became a political prisoner. The ending felt very targeted to a US audience and felt more preachy than interesting, but the first half gave me some interesting context into how Putin developed Russia away from progress.

[Dmitry · Rating 2 out of 5]

(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)

В прямом эфире телеканала Спас
Где нас никто не сохранил не спас
Нас никто не сохранил не спас
Ведь мы всего лишь под берцем наст
Пробив фанеру, будто пенопласт
Эх, силовичок нас притопчет всласть
Но нас никто не сохранил не спас
Здесь нас никто не сохранил не спас

И сколько мнений - столько и статей
Тут Бельфегор в рубахе из костей
На рейсе преисподняя - Коктебель
Рязанский сахар засыпал в коктейль
И молвил Молох, сидя на хвосте
Отдайте мне всех своих детей
Отдайте мне всех своих детей
И мы отдали всех своих детей

Эту книгу можно назвать частично автобиографической и частично личным взглядом автора на развитие России за последнее 30 лет. Однако тут нужно сразу подчеркнуть, что автор кране мало посвящает вопросу подъёма авторитаризма при Ельцине. Да, автор пишет про олигархов ельцинской поры и неудачные реформы начала 90-х, но очень поверхностно. Более того, автор всю вину по построению авторитаризма в России возлагает на Путина. Но кто же привёл Путина в Кремль, если не Ельцин? Уже много вышло книг по поводу того, что уже при Ельцине началось строительства авторитаризма, что сама конституция 1993 года давала президенту России сверхполномочия, что коррупция таких гигантских размеров появилась именно при Ельцине и что Путин был выбран Ельциным после того как тот решил «проблему» прокурора Скуратова, тем самым продемонстрировав лояльность Ельцину. Однако автор об этом не пишет. В книге вообще 90-х показаны мельком. Однако с моей точки зрения именно в 90-х и в эпохе правления Ельцина нужно искать корни сегодняшнего авторитаризма и персоналистской диктатуры. К тому же, крупные политические убийства начались при Ельцине, чего тоже не стоит забывать. Автор так же не подходит критически к своим действиям того времени ибо он был в то время одним из крупнейших олигархов. Да, автор пишет, что он ушёл с должности советника одного из министерства, т.к. был не согласен с тем, как проводились экономические реформы в начале 90-х. Увы, но это крайне мало для человека, который фигурирует в книге «The Oligarchs Wealth And Power In The New Russia» среди остальных 7 самых известных олигархов ельцинской поры. В общем, получается, что при Ельцине была демократия, и было всё OK, но потом откуда-то взялся Путин и всё разрушил. Но так не бывает. Так что это главный и очень большой минус книги.

Автор начинает со своей юности, коротко обрисовывая свой путь в большой бизнес. Так как я уже давно знаком с биографией автора, я ничего интересного тут не нашёл. Весь период конца 80-х и начала 2000-х подан в книге довольно поверхностно. Больше всего пространства в книге отведено путинскому правлению. Тут автор презентует свой взгляд на то, как развивалось дело ЮКОСа. Как пишет автор, всё началось с «шашлычного пакта», когда Путин пригласил всех крупных олигархов на шашлыки, где они договорились не вмешиваться в политику, за это власть не будет их трогать. Как пишет автор, очень скоро Путин стал нарушать договорённости. Впрочем, можно сказать, что это делали и олиг��рхи. К примеру, критика Путина в СМИ подконтрольных Березовскому и Гусинскому можно расценивать именно как атаку на Путина с целью скомпрометировать и убрать его из власти. В любом случаи, как я написал выше, авторитарные тенденции и диктаторская сущность верховной власти в РФ уже была заложена Ельциным. Далее автор рассказывает как Путин медленно, но уверенно закручивал гайки, т.е. как он варил лягушку на медленном огне. Весь эпизод с делом ЮКОСа мало чем отличается от давно известной информации так что и тут я не нашёл чего-то особенно интересного и нового. А вот когда автор переходит непосредственно к описанию тюремной жизни, то вот тут уже становится интересно, ибо об этом я ещё ни у кого не читал.

То, что российские тюрьмы практически никак не изменились со времён СССР, это я знал, так что описанный быт меня не сильно удивил. Хотя да, общество даже в 90-х годы крайне мало внимания уделяло факту необходимости коренного изменения российских тюрем, т.е. превращения их из сплошного ГУЛАГа в тюрьмы европейского типа хотя бы XX века. Нынешние российские тюрьмы не пытаются исправить человека, но служат целью изуродовать, измучить и нанести существенный урон его здоровью. А ведь именно это слово содержится в самом обозначении этого заведения – «исправительные учреждения». Как показывает автор, российские тюрьмы не только не исправляют, а подталкивают людей сохранять старые, т.е. криминальные привычки. Российская тюрьма была создана, чтобы ломать людей, а не исправлять. При этом, как пишет автор, наркотики, алкоголь и пр. можно запросто достать, что указывает на коррумпированную составляющую. Получается забавная ситуация, когда одни нарушители закона охраняют других нарушителей, ведь мы же понимаем что такие вещи пронести в тюрьму без разрешения администрации тюрьмы просто невозможно. Это ещё один аргумент о порочности всей тюремной системы. Пожалуй, именно эта глава была интересней всего. У меня возникло стойкое ощущение, что автор очень сильно себя цензурировал, не говоря всего, что он знает об отношениях олигархов с ельцинской и путинской властью. И единственный момент, где он не стал никак себя никак ограничивать в плане предоставления информации это как раз в главе, в которой он рассказывает о тюремной жизни. Да, достаточно один раз прочитать, чтобы получить сильные впечатления о российской тюрьме. После этого не приходится удивляться, что те оппозиционеры, которые однажды побывали в тюрьме, выходя из нее, переставали заниматься оппозиционной деятельностью. В данном случаи я говорю про простых граждан, а не про политических лидеров оппозиции.

Последняя часть книги как бы промелькнула. Автор пишет привычные слова про реальную возможность демократии в России и т.д. и т.п. Однако я так и не понял, что же для этого нужно сделать. Возможно, речь идёт про уход Путина от власти по естественным причинам, но даже тогда стоит не забывать, что власть попытаются подхватить из его слабеющих рук его друзья, а не российские демократы и либералы. Так что вопрос «как демократизировать Россию, власть в которой захватили бандиты», остаётся не отвеченным. Возможно, я пропустил тот момент, где автор отвечает на этот вопрос. Так как книга была написана для англоязычной аудитории, автор много внимания посвящает развенчанию мифа о невозможности демократии в России. Наверно для иностранцев это важный вопрос, но с моей точки зрения, очевидно, что в России многие люди хотят демократии. Беда только в том, что люди никогда не жили при демократии, поэтому они не могут отличить фасадную демократию, которую построил Ельцин и Путин, от настоящей демократии. Это, во-первых, а во-вторых, российская элита, как показали 90-х, думала не о том, как построить демократическое обществе, демократические институты и пр., а как бы самим забраться на политический олимп и не слезать с него как можно дольше. Коррупция, враньё и разврат, всегда сопровождали российскую элиту на всём её движении от коммунизма к капитализму. Увы, но автор не задаётся такими сложными вопросами. Поэтому это странное ощущение – как же Путин со своими друзьями пробрался во власть – как бы зависает в воздухе, является фоном всей книги. Автор не задаётся вопросом, кто же во всём этом виноват? Впрочем, он так же не отвечает на вопрос «Что делать?». Образовывать нацию – это, конечно, правильное решение, но как показал Путин, все образованные люди могут в один момент покинуть свои дорогие офисы в центре Москвы, чтобы отправится с винтовкой наперевес в окопы Донбасса. Впрочем, я не исключаю, что я просто невнимательно читал.

This book can be called partly autobiographical and partly the author's personal view on the development of Russia over the last 30 years. However, it should be emphasized that the author devotes very little to the rise of authoritarianism under Yeltsin. Yes, the author writes about the oligarchs of the Yeltsin era and the unsuccessful reforms of the early 90s, but very superficially. Moreover, the author puts all the blame for the construction of authoritarianism in Russia on Putin. But who brought Putin to the Kremlin, if not Yeltsin? Many books have already been published about the fact that under Yeltsin the construction of authoritarianism began, that the very constitution of 1993 gave the president of Russia superpowers, that corruption of such gigantic proportions appeared under Yeltsin, and that Putin was appointed by Yeltsin after he solved the "problem" of prosecutor Skuratov, thus demonstrating his loyalty to Yeltsin. However, the author does not write about it. The book shows the 90s in general in a glimpse. However, from my point of view, it is in the 90s and the era of Yeltsin's rule that we should look for the roots of today's authoritarianism and personalist dictatorship. Besides, major political murders started under Yeltsin, which should not be forgotten either. The author is also not critical of his actions at that time because he was one of the biggest oligarchs at that time. Yes, the author writes that he left his position as an advisor to a ministry because he disagreed with the way economic reforms were carried out in the early 90s. Alas, this is very little for a man who appears in the book "The Oligarchs Wealth And Power In The New Russia" among the other 7 most famous oligarchs of the Yeltsin era. In general, it turns out that under Yeltsin there was democracy, and everything was OK, but then Putin came from somewhere and destroyed everything. But it doesn't work like that. So this is the main disadvantage of the book.

The author begins with his youth, briefly outlining his path to big business. Since I have long been familiar with the author's biography, I found nothing interesting here. The whole period of the late 80s and early 2000s is presented in the book rather superficially. Most of the space in the book is given to Putin's rule. Here, the author presents his view on how the Yukos case developed. As the author writes, it all started with the "shashlik pact," when Putin invited all the big oligarchs to a shashlik party, where they agreed not to interfere in politics, for which the authorities would not touch them. As the author writes, very soon Putin began to violate the agreements. However, it can be said that the oligarchs also did so. For example, criticism of Putin in the media controlled by Berezovsky and Gusinsky can be regarded as an attack on Putin to compromise him and remove him from power. In any case, as I wrote above, authoritarian tendencies and the dictatorial nature of the supreme power in the Russian Federation were already laid by Yeltsin. Then the author tells how Putin slowly but surely tightened the screws, i.e., how he cooked the frog on a slow fire. The whole episode with the Yukos case is not much different from the long-known information, so I did not find anything particularly interesting or new here either. But when the author goes directly to the description of prison life, then it becomes interesting because I have not read about it from anyone else.

I knew that Russian prisons had not changed since the Soviet era, so I was not surprised by the described everyday life. Although, yes, even in the 90s, society paid very little attention to the fact that Russian prisons needed to be fundamentally changed, i.e., transformed from a continuous gulag into European-type prisons of at least the 20th century. The current Russian prisons do not try to improve a person but serve the purpose of disfiguring, tormenting, and causing significant damage to his health. After all, this very word is contained in the very designation of this institution - correctional institutions. As the author shows, Russian prisons not only do not correct but encourage people to keep old habits, i.e., criminal habits. Russian prisons were created to break people, not to improve them. At the same time, as the author writes, drugs, alcohol, etc., can be easily obtained, which indicates a corrupt component. It is a funny situation when some lawbreakers guard other lawbreakers because we understand that it is simply impossible to bring such things into prison without the permission of the prison administration. This is another argument about the viciousness of the whole prison system. Perhaps it was this chapter that was the most interesting. I have a strong feeling that the author has censored himself very much, not saying everything he knows about the relations of the oligarchs with the Yeltsin and Putin authorities. The only point where he did not limit himself in terms of providing information is in the chapter in which he talks about prison life. Yes, it is enough to read it once to get a strong impression of a Russian prison. After that, one should not be surprised that those oppositionists who had once been in prison, stopped engaging in opposition activities when they came out of it. In this case, I am talking about ordinary citizens, not political leaders of the opposition.

The last part of the book kind of flashed by. The author writes the usual words about the real possibility of democracy in Russia, etc. etc. However, I never understood what it was necessary to do for that. Perhaps it's about Putin leaving power for natural reasons, but even then it should be remembered that it's his friends, not Russian democrats and liberals, who will try to take power from his weakening hands. So the question of "how to democratize Russia, where the power has been seized by bandits" remains unanswered. Perhaps I missed the point where the author answers this question. Since the book was written for an English-speaking audience, the author devotes a lot of attention to debunking the myth that democracy is impossible in Russia. This is probably an important question for foreigners, but from my point of view, it is obvious that many people in Russia want democracy. The only problem is that people have never lived under a democracy, so they cannot distinguish between the facade democracy that Yeltsin and Putin built and real democracy. This, firstly, and secondly, the Russian elite, as shown in the 90s, thought not about how to build a democratic society, democratic institutions, etc., but how to climb the political Olympus themselves and not get off it as long as possible. Corruption, lies, and debauchery have always accompanied the Russian elite throughout its movement from communism to capitalism. Alas, the author does not ask such difficult questions. That is why this strange feeling - how Putin and his friends got into power - seems to hang in the air, is the background of the whole book. The author does not ask who is to blame for all this. However, he also does not answer the question "What to do?". Educating the nation is, of course, the right thing to do, but as Putin has shown, all educated people can leave their expensive offices in the center of Moscow at a moment's notice to go to the trenches of Donbass with a rifle. However, I don't rule out that I just didn't read carefully.

[Иван Гърков · Rating 5 out of 5]

Книгата ми беше много интересна и я прочетох бързо. Михаил Ходорковс��и в наалото на 20-ти век е най-богатият човек в Русия. Той е бил управител на петролният гигант Юкос и е бил на 16-то място в световният списък на милиардерите на ,,Форбс". Ходорковски има продемократични възгледи и убеждения, критикува сериозно Путин и приближените до него олигарси, и не си спестява коментарите по отношение на различни корупционни схеми на президента и администрацията му, които са ощетили държавата и руснаците със стотици милиони долари. Тези негови изказвания и възгледи довеждат до сблъсък в Путлерчо и за съжаление през 2003 го осъждат по някакви политически мотивирани скалъпени обвинения и прекарва над 10 години в различни затворнически лагери. Когато излиза от затвора и го гонят от държавата, той не се отказва от Русия и руският народ и основава филантропска организация, която се казва "Отворена Русия" и има за цел да подпомага политическите реформи в Русия, да работи за провеждането на свободни и честни избори, да защитава различни журналисти и активисти, да гарантира върховенство на закона, независимостта на медиите, свободата на словото и др. Михаил Ходорковски в края на книгата си пише, че според него макар условията да са много зле в Русия и за момента тя да става една все по-тоталитарна държава, той все още вярва, че е възможно в бъдеще, например след Путин, Русия да се насочи по пътя към превръщането си в демократична държава, нещо, в което аз като един обикновен човек и неспециалист по политика не вярвам. Надявам се той да е прав.

[Anna Chu]

There’s a lot of unpack here and honestly I’m too lazy to write an essay that my review of this book would be.

It’s a bit all over the place, there’s history background, personal experience and political manifesto mixed in one narration that sometimes feels unreliable. I guess like any semi memoir ought to. It was interesting to hear Mikhail’s side of the story since as 90s child I missed all the action. This book felt hopeful and naive at times perhaps I’m a pessimist whose dreams were squashed with Bolotnaya protests and then 2018 ‘elections’.

[Furball404 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book if you want to understand Modern Russia, Perestroika, Why doing business in Russia is so hard, and how Putin came and stays in power.

When I bought the book it wasn't very clear what it's about, so here is a summary without spoilers:

Khodorkovsky is a former Russian business man, he used to be the Steve Jobs of Russia, but he was prisoned and exiled for resisting Putin, and defending democracy and the free market.

The book first tells about Perestroika the restructuring of the soviet economy, from Khodorkovsky's point of view, which is very interesting because he was one of the first people to be able to build a business in Soviet Russia, which used to be illegal.

Then the book tells about Khodorkovsky's business, and how the mafia and KGB used to operate,
how he used to work with the Yeltsin government, how the links between mafia, police and FSB were born from firing too many KGB men.

Then we get to how he met Putin, and Putin's rise to power. His imprisonment, political activities and exile to the west.

At the end of the book, the author describes how Russian state's clientelist system, and repressive system works, and why Putin keeps starting wars abroad.

It really changed the way I saw Russia in many ways, and it left me frustrated on realising what a good chance for democratic Russia, and good relations with the west were lost in the shift from Yeltsin "Liberals" to Putin's mob state. It also makes a very good point, Russia is either going to be a part of the problem or a part of the solution, so we who live in Europe can't ignore her anymore.

[Alex Cotterill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Khordorovsky shows the true colours of Putin’s soviet style dictatorship alongside his deluded cronies. If you don’t know much about Russian society that much it’s a great read to understand why most of the population hate Mr P and want him out!

[Kieran McNulty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 4/12 2023 (Had to change my goal for the year due to my... Less than promising rate of performance thus far)

[Antoniettap · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you don't have any knowledge about contemporary Russia, this is a perfect book for you. However, if you do have some knowledge about Russian politics and history, if you have been following the news as much as I do, then this book is just a waste of time.

[Alexandra Popoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mikhail Khodorkovky’s new book "The Russia Conundrum" is an insider story of Putin’s rise and of Russia’s return to authoritarianism; it’s also a story about the destruction of the market economy by “the Kremlin mafia.”

The book has an interesting profile of Putin, elucidating on his ties to the criminal world. When back in the 1990s Putin returned from East Germany to St. Petersburg, the former KGB officer served as the deputy St. Petersburg mayor. In this capacity Putin mediated between “gangsters, businessmen, and city bureaucrats.” During the Yeltsin years of transitioning to a market economy the former KGB men found themselves unemployed; they provided intelligence to organized crime rings, receiving their share of profits. Putin, hired by St. Petersburg’s mayor because of his KGB background and connections, was assigned “to co-opt organized crime bosses to ensure that outbreaks of violence and disruption were minimized.”

As Khodorkovsky points out, “many of those involved in the corrupt world of St. Petersburg in the 1990s would later rise to prominence in Putin’s Kremlin, following the mafia principle that the family looks after its own.” One example is a meteoric rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, whom Putin first met in the St. Petersburg underworld. Prigozhin, who served nine years in prison for “robbery, burglary, and fraud,” later became Putin’s closest adviser. A former street thief, Prigozhin now runs the infamous Wagner Private Military Company (now designated by the U.S. as a criminal organization), whose mercenaries are “funded and deployed by the Kremlin” to Libya, Sudan, and Mozambique as well as to Ukraine where they have committed ruthless crimes.

One of the most successful businessmen of his generation and Russia’s richest man, Khodorkovsky had established Yukos, the country’s most profitable and transparent oil company. When he challenged Putin’s authority and launched into politics, his company was broken up and confiscated by the state. He was arrested, stripped of his wealth, and had to spend 10 years in the gulag. The book illuminates the nature of his conflict with Putin.

Months before his arrest in October 2003, speaking at the U.S.-Russia Business Council in Washington, Khodorkovsky said that Russia was at a crossroads. The country’s future depended on which of the two models of development it would choose––“the authoritarian one or the model of the civilized modern state.” It soon became apparent that Putin and the Kremlin elite wanted to return to “state dominance or, rather, their own control of the economy.”

For Putin, “corruption was the means by which he was planning to rule the Russian state.” For Khodorkovsky, who wanted to run his company on principles of Western accountability and transparency, “the Kremlin mafia,” which controlled most of the nation’s wealth, became an insurmountable obstacle. Putin did not need an honest oligarch who refused to play by the Kremlin rules.

The book is highly readable and insightful, but the final chapter where Khodorkovsky dreams of Russia’s “brighter” future struck me as idealistic. “I firmly believe that Russia is not doomed to remain in thrall to the repressive personalized model of autocracy that has been imposed on her by Vladimir Putin. I am convinced that my homeland can become a normal country, blessed by the benefits of market-oriented liberal democracy.”

I believe that making any predictions for Russia’s future can be self-defeating. Putin has dramatically changed the country’s standing in the world. The war in Ukraine is not only Putin’s war, for the majority of brainwashed Russians are supporting it. How can Russia become “a normal country” is beyond me.

[Marcin Łopienski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Macie już dość książek o Rosji?

W ciągu ostatnich 18 miesięcy na polskim rynku pojawiło się dużo pozycji i chociaż sam nie przeczytałem wszystkich, to odczuwałem przesyt. Po „Rosyjską zagwozdkę” warto jednak sięgnąć.

Po pierwsze z uwagi na osobę Michaiła Chodorkowskiego, współautora i narratora opowieści, którego w skrócie można nazwać najbogatszym oligarchą Rosji czasów Borysa Jelcyna, który przez jeden błąd stał się największym wrogiem Putina. Przed sięgnięciem po „Rosyjską zagwozdkę” miałem jedną obawę: czy będzie to swobodny wywód Chodorkowskiego, który całą opowieść popchnie w kierunku hagiografii? Na szczęście tak nie jest.

Na początku dziwne jest jednak to, że współautor książki historycznej we wstępie zdradza, czym ta opowieść jest. Mowa tu o próbie przyjrzenia się wysiłkom Zachodu w celu pohamowania represji Kremla w kraju i za granicą. To historia tego, jak Rosjanie w końcówce lat 80. XX wieku zachłysnęli się ideałami wolnościowymi i jak w ponad 10 lat się nimi udławili. I w końcu jest to też próba nakreślenia przyszłości Rosji już po śmierci Putina. Trzeba przyznać, że z uwagi na pewną naiwność autora, napawa ona optymizmem w równym stopniu, co ostatnie wyniki reprezentacji Polski w piłce nożnej.

Co poza tym? Mamy tutaj bardzo szczegółowy i ciekawy opis przemian Michaiła Gorbaczowa w ZSRR, dzięki czemu możemy na tego polityka spojrzeć od trochę innej, nieco łaskawszej, strony. „Rosyjska zagwozdka” jest interesującą opowiastką o wprowadzaniu kapitalizmu do Rosji, a czytając o „Chłopcach z Chicago”, którzy mieli również wpływ na przemiany ekonomiczne w Polsce, można kilka razy złapać się za głowę. Jest to również ciekawa historia o tym, czym był de facto ZSRR, o różnicach między KGB a FSB Putina oraz obszerna rozprawa o tym, dlaczego Rosjanie tak wierzą w rządy silnej ręki.

Ciekawie jest też opowiedziana postać samego Chodorkowskiego, jego historii życia (zwłaszcza walki sądowej), choć niektórych wątków jest tu więcej, a innych mniej (zwłaszcza o latach 90.). Niemniej przeczytać warto, bo jeżeli chodzi o zrozumienie, co obecnie dzieje się w Rosji, ja z niej jak dotąd dowiedziałem się najwięcej.

[Aqeel Haider · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐦 by 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐊𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐨𝐯𝐬𝐤𝐲
(How the West Fell for Putin's Power Gambit - And How to Fix It)
If you are interested in today's Russia, then this book is for you. Khodorkovsky was once the Richest man in Russia. He was a chemical engineer and entrepreneur in the 1990s, after Gorbachev's perestroika reforms. Boris Yeltsin holds the reins of the country. He introduced liberal reforms and modernisation of the economy of the country. Khodorkovsky was the pioneer of the 1st Private Bank of Russia. Then he bought Yukos Oil company from the state. But with all these parallel reforms, the country was drifting toward Strongman.

In December 1999, Putin took over as an interim president of Russia. An old KGB agent starts pitching his old clique from St. Petersburg into power circles. Gennady Timchenko, Nikolai Patrushev, Igor Sechin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Arkady Rosenberg, Yuri and Mikhail Kovalchuck and Alexei Miller. These are old colleagues from St. Petersburg once Putin was Deputy Mayor under Anatoly Sobchak Or the KGB Junta.

Russia, under Putin, embarked on new Autocratic rule in 2000. They distanced themselves from the West and, for approval ratings, opened War theatre abroad. Examples are Syria, the American election in 2016, the Crimea annexation and the Recent Ukraine war in 2022. Putin's cronies amassed wobbling wealth under him. Putin himself is a beneficiary of shady deals at the cost of Ordinary Russians. Putin's gross net worth is around 200$ billion dollars.

Khodorkovsky is working to open a Russian NGO with the cooperation of Alexi Nalvavany(Nodeaded). Nalvavany was an Activist who exposed Kremlin corruption and challenged his moral authority to rule. Khodorkovsky also put forward Ways to counter Putin and his cronies and highlights a few recommendations for the West.


If Anyone is interested to read it. Go for 1st Putin's People by Catherine Belton. You understand better if you are new to Russian post-Soviet fall history.
#thanks
#Recommended.

[mariuszowelektury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Najbogatszy oligarcha epoki Jelcyna opowiada o swoim życiu. Z początku wydaje się, że będzie hagiografia - idealistyczny obraz człowieka, który dzięki zbiegom okoliczności, ciężkiej pracy, pasji i szczęściu stał się najbogatszym Rosjaninem, a przy tym liberałem, demokratą, który na przełomie wieków myśli tylko o dobru ojczyzny, budowaniu społeczeństwa obywatelskiego. Później jest trochę o Rosji Putina, pobycie w więzieniu, emigracji, miejscami wynurzenia na temat historii i wizji przyszłości Rosji. I w sumie jest to bardzo ciekawe, np. w miejscach, w których opowiada o więzieniu i obozie.
Chodorkowski stawia tezę, że Rosja może być albo autorytarna albo demokratyczna, trudno jednak znaleźć mi przykłady bycia demokratyczną poza latami 90tymi XX wieku i okresem między rewolucja lutową a październikową, choć pewnie i z tym można by polemizować. Stawia również zarzut Zachodowi, że tracąc zainteresowanie demokratyzacją Rosji pod koniec XX w. przyczynił się do wepchnięcia jej w odmęty dyktatury. Jednak kiedy pisze, że zależy mu, by Rosja miała nowe obszary rozwoju, to zaczynam się zastanawiać, na ile głoszony liberalizm podszyty jest imperializmem. Czy przypadkiem nie chodzi o dążenie do dominacji gospodarczej w dawnych strefach wpływu, bo militarna jest ślepą uliczką? Mam wrażenie, że jest to książka skierowana do elit zachodu, by przypomnieć o sobie i ustawić się w kolejce do kandydowania na ewentualnego przywódzcę po erze putinizmu. Zastanawiająca jest również teza, iż sankcje powinny dotyczyć tylko decydentów a nie całego społeczeństwa.
Ale o wiele ciekawsze jest to, czego w tej książce nie ma: oligarchia, wojna o wpływy, działania zbrojne w Gruzji, Czeczeni… i takich niedomówień, przemilczeń, uogólnień nawet w krytyce obecnej władzy można by jeszcze znaleźć kilka.
Czytać zatem czy nie? Czytać, jak najbardziej, by zrozumieć jaki jest rosyjski punkt widzenia, mentalność, postrzeganie Europy i Ameryki.

[Czytaniejestpodroza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dziś przychodzę do Was z reportażem "Rosyjska zagwozdka. Co zrobić z urojonym imperium" Michaiła Chodorkowskiego. Jest to ciekawa analiza polityki i społeczeństwa rosyjskiego od czasów Gorbaczowa do obecnych.

Książka podzielona jest na trzy części. Pierwsza odnosi się do rządów Gorbaczowa, a następnie Jelcyna oraz wprowadzonych przez nich zmian w polityce gospodarczej. To wtedy swoją działalność biznesową rozpoczął Michaił Chodorkowski. Pokazuje jak nowe prawo sprzyjało powstawianiu nowych biznesów osobom, które nie bały się ryzyka.

Kolejna część odnosi się stricte do rządów Putina. Jest to okres, w którym prawo, rozwój, sposób myślenia zamiast iść na przód zaczynają się cofać. To w tym okresie dochodzi do afery związanej z firmą Chodorkowskiego - Jukosem. Jest to również czas kiedy przedsiębiorca i jego koledzy zostali aresztowani. Ostatecznie Chodorkowski został umieszczony w GUŁAGu.

Ostatnia, trzecia, część są to już czasy, gdy Chodorkowski jest na wolności. Znajdują się to obserwacje i uwagi autora odnośnie relacji Zachód-Wschód. Jest to zdecydowanie najnudniejsza część w tej książce. Dwie pierwsze chłonęłam i właśnie ta końcówka mnie zaczęła nudzić. Spodobał mi się jedynie rozdział o otruciach. Być może ta część najmniej mnie wciągnęła, bo są to czasy, o których słyszy się na bieżąco. Jest tu mało odkrywczych rzeczy.

Brakowało mi w tym reportażu dokładnych źródeł, do których odnosił się autor. Znaczna większość napisana jest na podstawie jego obserwacji i doświadczeń. Jest to oczywiście również pewien walor tej książki. Podane zostały relacje z pierwszej ręki. [Tak wiem, że zaprzeczam sama sobie, ale widzę w tym plus i minus]

Ogólnie polecam tę książkę. Duże brawa dla tłumacza 👏 Książkę czyta się bardzo płynnie. Znajdziecie w niej też parę żartów - ja się z nich śmiałam 🤭

[Mark A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russian rule and corruption have gone hand in hand throughout history. This unfortunate trend even continues in our world today, as Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Martin Sixsmith trace Russia after the fall of the the Soviet Union, Khodorkovsky's imprisonment, and how to stop the broken Putin regime, in the Russia Conundrum.
The book is told from the author's personal experience as he was successful in free enterprise Russia of the 1990s and became the owner of the largest oil company in the country. He vividly highlights success that some had, but also the failures of the Yeltsin presidency and the surprising rise of Vladimir Putin regime. He goes on to talk of the blatant abuses that Putin took with his authority, and how he and others were imprisoned for openly criticizing the Russian president and his unlawful manipulation and coercing private industry. His vivid story opens up a much better understanding of the president's autocratic rule, and what must be done to stop him from exerting influence over Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and hopefully Russia itself.
Khodorkovsky has a love for his country and is a patriot that wants nothing more than to see his home enter the modern world. There is some bias in his story telling, but I think that is to be expected in a book that provides an interesting nonfiction topic and insightful read in modern Russia politics. A definite read for any current issues enthusiast. Four stars.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Khodorkovsky is a former Russian oligarch and would-be post-Putin reformer. This is a fascinating insider account on the transformation of Russia from Boris Yeltsin's chaotic lean to the West and opening to Putin's autocracy/kleptocracy. During missteps of the sale of state companies, the author is one of those that that gambled big and won through ownership bids. He explains how this approach in Post-Soviet Russia with the guidance of The Chicago Boys and hampered by foreign investor greenmail turned many off to capitalism. The portrait of Putin is one of an insulated head of criminal state who has no option other than forging ahead, regardless of the devastation to neighbors or his own.

I took this in using the audiobook with Martin Sixsmith as contributor and narrated by Jonathan Keeble:

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 10-04-22
Language: English
Publisher: Macmillan Audio

[Daria (jezykowy.koneser) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Rosyjska zagwozdka. Co zrobić z urojonym imperium?" to bardzo ciekawa autobiografia Michaiła Chodorowskiego.

Książka zawiera wspomnienia Chodorowskiego. Jego punkt widzenia, ważnych wydarzeń, które miały miejsce w Rosji.

Książka została podzielona na trzy części.

Pierwsza dotyczy rządów Gorbaczowa, a potem Jelcyna. Opisuje tutaj przemiany gospodarcze, upadek Związku Radzieckiego, jak pomagał odbudować kraj. Opisuje tutaj jak sam wykorzystał sytuację w jakiej znalazł się kraj i rozwinął swój biznes.

Druga część dotyczy rządów Putina, jak kraj na nowo zaczął się zmieniać. Można przeczytać o procesie odnośnie jego i jego firmy Jukos.

Trzecia część to historia Chodorowskiego już po opuszczeniu więzienia. Zawarł tutaj swoje przemyślenia odnośnie stosunków między Wschodem a Zachodem.

Bardzo zainteresowała mnie ta książka. Znajdziemy tutaj opis wydarzeń z pierwszej ręki, informacje i odczucia naocznego świadka. Nie wiem, czy ten tytuł w całości może być wiarygodny, gdyż miałam wrażenie, że Chodorowski niekiedy próbował się tłumaczyć dlaczego postąpił właśnie tak, a nie inaczej.

Dobrze czytało mi się "Rosyjską zagwozdkę", mimo niekiedy trudnej tematyki. Jest to lektura zdecydowanie warta uwagi.

[Coffee & books · Rating 4 out of 5]

It shows how even one of the most liberal russians can be ignorant of the suffering his country caused for decades. He never mentions reparations for the damage done to Ukraine or demilitarizing and denuclearizing of russia. He also said that russia should be kept as it was, as if the poor regions that provide cannon fodder for russia's wars should be maintained within the russian federation.
He loves russia but didn't properly engage with its imperialistic and colonial past and blames putin for everything, as if putin alone started all the wars in the last 20 years, as if putin was the one in trenches.

I gave it 4 stars because it offers a good overview of the views of liberal russians, which might not be particularly liberal, but at least it's honest.

The co-author, Martin Sixsmith, could have done a better job, but must have been to much of a russophile to be able to analyse russia(ns) properly.

[ForenSeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting true story from Putin's fascist Russia. Khodorkovsky is a figure who divides opinions, but one fact is 100 percent clear: this is a man who risked his life in his fight against Russia's slide back towards the bad old days of the Soviet Union, and who paid for his crusade with his freedom. Khodorkovsky writes about his youth, his business career, and his 10 years in prison, an entirely political sentence that he was given for publicly shaming Putin's corrupt regime. Co-author Martin Sixsmith makes the story flow with the ease of a well-written suspense story, and there are some shades of hope here as well - even for Russia's future! Essential reading in 2023. May have worked even better as an audiobook, considering its "reminiscing" atmosphere.

[Mike Buckman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is enlightening to have an insider's view of the early years when Putin came to power. That constitutes the first third of the book. The middle third of the book is about the author's arrest and imprisonment. I wasn't sure what this had to do with the title of the book except that it did show how Soviet style oppression has been brought back by Putin. It reminded me of "The Gulag Archipelago" which is ironic as Khodorkovsky doesn't think that much of Solzhenitsyn. In the last third of the book, the author expresses some ideas about how Russia may be brought back into the community of democratic nations.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good insight into President Putin‘s motives in Ukraine by a businessman, who used to be friends with Putin, but who ended up imprisoned by him.

Important takeaways are that most of Putin‘s actions are dictated by what will make him popular with Russians. Like a Roman Cesar he is giving his people gladiators and bread.

15% of Russians regularly pay bribes and the only way to run a business is to be in favor with the FSB, which the author says, is now much more powerful than its predecessor, the KGB. The KGB could not dream of the online hacking ability of the FSB or of their current controls over the courts, judges and the Russian Orthodox.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story by the Russian CEO of a privatized oil company who has been imprisoned for 10 years after false conviction for illegal association with organizations considered anti-government. Scathing indictment of Putin and his dictatorial policies. Good like Red Notice altho missing the shock value of Red Notice which seemed exaggerated when it was first published. Now we know that the hideous details are all true.

[Liam Heron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong account of the pretext and subsequent workings of Putin's Russia. Teeters on the self-righteous side at times, and the inherent - and understandable - bias of the author should not be overlooked. For the most part, this is an earnest, timely combination of Khodorkovsky's experiences in the 'wild capitalism' era and its fall, alongside some speculative modern history that strives so hard to kindle hope of a European Russia.

[Jaanika Merilo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book didn´t surprise me in any way, I don't know if it is good or bad. Its omehow just confirmed what I thought about Khodorkovskiy.

Very well-written book (as you would expect with so a good co-author) and definitely an eye-opener for those who don't follow Russia on a daily bases.

If you are interested in getting to know more about Russia without lengthy history lessons or too many numbers, it is a good reading and an interesting biography.

[Danish Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a good read. Provides a good analysis on the issues plaguing the Russian economy and society. The analysis provided by the author can be used to draw parallels to several other countries with a authoritarian government under the guise of a federal or democratic one.

[Jonathan Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible lesson in modern Russian history. The author describe amazing details of what is happening in Russian since Putin’s reign.

I got a little sad to understand that is possible that Russia will never have a different future other than Authoritarianism.

[Alex M. Bendersky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings clarity to the current social and political environment surrounding Russia

[Peter Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not at all convinced that the 'answer' Khodorkovsky proposes is actually possible or probable, however the author provides a clear view of the current Putin autocracy and the problems for the West.