How to Slay a Dragon
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Putin Is Betting on Winter and on Europe's Far Right. Both Bets Will Fail
Putin hopes to break Ukraine this winter and to find friendlier governments in Europe next year. Meanwhile, Gerhard Schröder has taken a new job in…
Oct 13
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky
152
4
25
No War, No Putin: Why a Peace Treaty with Him Would Be Self-Deception
At the Warsaw Security Forum, I explained why signing a lasting treaty with Putin would be self-deception, where his regime is vulnerable, and what…
Oct 13
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky
96
4
14
On Trump's Plan to Trade Sanctions for Political Prisoners
Trump has reportedly backed a plan to ease sanctions on Russia in exchange for political prisoners. In Belarus, the money from such deals ends up in…
Oct 12
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky
66
5
6
September 2026
Could a machine give Russia’s nuclear launch order?
Russia hid its doomsday nuclear retaliation system in a giant bunker under a mountain. One of its developers says it can now retaliate without human…
Sep 27
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky
50
8
8
The New Russia Sanctions Look Tough. Are They?
The measures look very tough. But Trump has considerable freedom over how he uses them.
Sep 20
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky
46
1
11
The mobilization will not be televised. It will just happen
It is the fundamental error of the West to assume Putin is looking for a way out. He thinks he just has to hold on a little longer, and then everything…
Sep 17
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky
208
16
37
What happens if Putin is no longer up to the job?
Russian dictator repeats nonsense about orcas and missiles, gets battlefield locations wrong and struggles to read prepared answers.
Sep 17
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky
153
13
28
What Putin is waiting for in Europe
Putin sees the AfD’s success in Saxony-Anhalt as grounds for optimism
Sep 14
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky
91
9
18
What Putin inherited when Prigozhin died
Imagine your president taking over the criminal empire of a man who had marched an army towards your capital. That is what Putin did after Prigozhin’s…
Sep 9
•
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
77
7
13
The moment I realized Putin was a sociopath
How Putin Sacrificed Children for Power
Sep 3
•
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
188
22
45
August 2026
What Moscow doesn't know about its own oil refineries
Western analysts keep asking whether Ukraine's campaign against Russian refineries is actually working. I ran Russia's largest oil company and my answer…
Aug 18
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky
508
16
71
They panicked.
The Kremlin is not afraid of losing an election, because the procedure we're about to witness is not an election. They're afraid of losing control of…
Aug 11
•
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
165
18
24
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