On 7 April 2026, the Rafael del Pino Foundation organised the Dialogue between Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Mira Milosevich: “Russia after Putin: scenarios for the opposition andthe future of the regime”.

At a time marked by the erosion of the liberal order and the intensification of geopolitical rivalry, the dialogue addressed one of the most relevant unknowns on the international scene: what can be expected of Russia beyond Vladimir Putin. However, far from focusing on the short term or on hypotheses of succession, the conversation turned to a deeper question: to what extent is a real transformation of the Russian political system possible?

Khodorkovsky’s central thesis is particularly significant for its structural character. Russia’s problem, he argues, lies not only in the current leadership, but in the persistence of a historically centralised political model that is weakly institutionalised and prone to reproduce authoritarian dynamics. In this sense, Putin’s eventual departure would not necessarily constitute a turning point but, at best, the beginning of an uncertain process.

Video (in Spanish)