Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. 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.Īuthoritative, essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the frightening breadth and depth of Putin’s methods.Ī neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.

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. And once they have you in their sights, there is no way out. “They can simply take a fancy to your business or your property. “You don’t even need to fall out with them to be targeted,” he writes. Khodorkovsky’s criticisms of Putin, and of the level of corruption in the inner circle, led to his arrest and decade in prison. When Putin took over, Khodorkovsky was initially hopeful, but he soon realized the danger of his authoritarian ambitions. His wealth led to close contact with Boris Yeltsin, and he even served as an economic adviser. 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.

The book could have easily turned into a conspiratorial rant, but the text remains focused. 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. 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. A disturbing account that peels back the layers of the Putin regime to reveal the corruption and violence at the core.

The russia conundrum