How Do You Slay a Dragon? with the subtitle A Manual for Start-Up Revolutionaries by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, translated into English by Stephen Dalziel october 2022. Khodorkovsky is one of the most astute observers of today’s Russia. He’s known the best and the worst of the country. He’s discussed the country’s future with Putin himself, and with fellow inmates in prison. And like many Russians who now live abroad, he longs for the day when he can return to his country; when it’s a free, democratic country. He is a true Russian patriot.
Khodorkovsky has a deep appreciation of the cyclical nature of Russian history. A revolution against an autocracy has produced…another autocracy…followed by another revolution…followed… If Russia is to find its place as a contributor to global civilisation as it is capable of doing, then this vicious circle has to be broken.
How Do You Slay a Dragon? is not just another book about Russia’s history. Some may consider it as political science; others as a manifesto for true Russian democrats. In some ways it is both. But first and foremost I would describe it as a work of practical philosophy. Why? The clue is in the title of the final chapter: “The Moral Choice: Justice or Mercy?” From the book:
I am absolutely convinced that revolution in Russia is inevitable and that it’s desperately needed. This doesn’t alter my extreme dislike of revolutions in principle, nor my deep regret that Russia has gone so far down an historic dead-end that the only possible way out is through a revolution. Any revolution represents a trial for a society, even when it brings with it a wonderful future. At the same time, a revolution does not necessarily mean street battles, storming buildings, seizing post-offices, bridges and the telegraph office. Such events are not indicative of a revolution but of an uprising. Yes, such incidents often accompany a revolution, but they are not essential and, what’s more, are not the main component of a revolution.
Download How Do You Slay a Dragon? here (177 pages/928 KB):
Who is Mikhail Khodorkovsky?
Mikhail Khodorkovsky is a Russian businessman and former oligarch. He was born in 1963 in Moscow, and grew up in a communal apartment with his parents and two siblings. Khodorkovsky attended the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, where he studied chemistry, but dropped out after two years to start a business selling computers.
In the 1990s, during the privatization of state-owned assets in Russia, Khodorkovsky and a group of partners acquired a controlling stake in the oil company Yukos. Under Khodorkovsky’s leadership, Yukos became one of Russia’s largest and most profitable companies. In 2003, Khodorkovsky was arrested and charged with fraud and tax evasion. He was sentenced to nine years in prison, and was released in 2013.
After his release from prison, Khodorkovsky moved to Switzerland, where he now lives with his wife and children. He is a vocal critic of the Russian government and its policies, and is involved in several organizations that support democracy and human rights in Russia. In 2017, he announced the creation of a new political party in Russia, which he hopes will provide an alternative to the ruling party.
