Mikhail Khodorkovsky is one of the most astute observers of today’s Russia. Imprisoned for a decade in Russia’s prisons on politically motivated charges, he knows all too well the best and the worst of his country. He now lives in exile and, like many Russians who live abroad, he longs for the day when he can return to a free and democratic Russia.

This book is Khodorkovsky’s account of what is happening in Russia today and what could happen in the future. Putin will not last forever: sooner or later, there will be a post-Putin era. But Russia’s history has been deeply shaped by an autocratic trap: a revolution against an autocracy has produced another autocracy, followed by another revolution and another autocracy, and so on. If Russia is to find its place as a constructive partner in a global community of civilized nations, then it has to escape this vicious cycle.

How to Slay a Dragon is Khodorkovsky’s account of his own journey and of how the vicious cycle of Russian history can be broken. He charts a pathway towards a parliamentary federal republic which would enable Russia to become a free and democratic society, living in peace and without dragons.