On 21 December 2013, Mikhail Khodorkovsky landed at the Berlin Schönefeld airport a free man over a decade after his imprisonment. Much to President Putin’s dismay, Mr. Khodorkovsky has been very busy since his release, setting up educational and media initiatives in Russia. Since 2014 the Kremlin has forced Russia down an authoritarian route, promoting feelings of resentment towards the West amongst its citizens and keeping international cooperation to a minimum.

Mr. Khodorkovsky never intended on sitting by whilst the Kremlin dismantled the free press, promoted Human Rights violations and brought the country to a point of economic stagnation. This slideshow above highlights the steps Mr. Khodorkovsky has taken to uphold dialogue between Russia and the West, advocating a democratic and prosperous Russia where the government is held to account and plays by the rules.

In addition, Mr. Khodorkovsky has set up numerous initiatives since his release that are designed to bolster Russian civil society that has been strangled by paranoid Kremlin policies. We have produced a short video below that tells you all you need to know about Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s initiatives.