Members of the European Parliament joined people around the world in paying their own tribute to Mikhail Khodorkovsky on his birthday today by sending a collection of their writings to the Podmoskovny school founded by Khodorkovsky nearly 20 years ago.

Assembling a package of books and pamphlets for Khodorkovsky was the idea of distinguished writer and philosopher Leonidas Donskis, an MEP who represents Lithuania and has been at the forefront of efforts in the European Parliament to campaign for Khodorkovsky’s release.

Rather than send the books to Khodorkovsky himself, it was decided to send them to the library of the Podmoskovny school to reflect Khodorkovsky’s interest in educational philanthropy, his passion for the project he began in 1994, his attachment to democratic ideas and writing, and his belief that education is key to Russia’s economic and social modernisation.