W H Allen signs former Russian oil tycoon and Kremlin insider’s ‘look behind Putin’s mask’

W H Allen, an imprint of Ebury, has acquired The Russia Conundrum: How The West Fell for Putin’s Power Gambit – and How to Fix It by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former Russian oil tycoon and Kremlin insider turned political prisoner and pro-democracy campaigner.

Albert DePetrillo, publishing director at Ebury, acquired World Rights from Peter Straus at Rogers, Coleridge & White. W H Allen will publish in the UK in September 2022.  North American rights have been sold to Tim Bartlett at St Martin’s Press. 

Khodorkovsky has written the book with Martin Sixsmith, the former BBC Moscow correspondent and author of the bestsellers Russia: A 1,000-Year Chronicle of the Wild East (BBC Books) and The Lost Child of Philomena Lee (Pan), adapted into the Oscar-nominated film “Philomena”.

The publisher said: “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 10 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.”

DePetrillo said: “Very few people have the insight into Putin’s Russia that Mikhail Khodorkovsky has, and we’re thrilled to be publishing The Russia Conundrum on W H Allen. With the situation in Ukraine growing more serious each day, Mikhail’s analysis of how Putin works, derived from his own experience fighting against him, is more urgent than ever. It will be an essential addition to the discussion of Russia’s future role in world affairs.” 

Khodorkovsky commented that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has revealed him for what he is , “an ageing dictator obsessed by the notion of restoring an empire”, calling the book his analysis of what Putin’s fascism and dictatorship mean for the world, while Sixsmith added: “It has been fascinating to work on this book. Mikhail Khodorkovsky knows what makes Vladimir Putin tick and he knows what happens when you stand up to him.

“His testimony provides a unique insight into the events that have brought the world to deadly confrontation and offers a practical blueprint for a better future.”