The latest article by Mikhail Khodorkovsky was published in Russian historic magazine Diletant on Wednesday 18 July. ‘Modernization from Kunstkamera’ – on the reign of Peter the Great, vertical power, Stalin’s leadership and “the window into the Europe”.

The concluding paragraph:
“300 years had passed since the time of Peter’s reforms. Instead of trading in hemp, timber, grain and iron, we now trade in oil, gas … timber, grain and iron.
We are still only dreaming to live as comfortable as in Europe, have the same good roads as in Europe, the goods that are not worse than in Europe. We dream about government officials serving the public, and not their pocket. We dream to overcome corruption…
But most importantly – we dream about someone doing it instead of us.
We have had enough of tsars with firm arm for 300 years, only the result is still the same.
Unfortunately, the lesson has not been learnt to the present day.”

By Mikhail Khodorkovsky – former owner of Yukos, now prisoner in Colony 7, city of Segezha, Russia.

The full digital version is available on Diletant.ru website (in Russian)