In the ten years since Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested and imprisoned, it’s not just his young family members that have changed.  Russia’s economic and social landscapes have also changed, and not for the better.  Writing in the New York Times to mark the tenth anniversary of his arrest on October 25, 2003, Khodorkovsky discusses state monopolism, capital flight, corruption, lack of innovation, rights scandals that have gone global, and an increasing rate of radicalisation.  And who is to blame?

Today the system for running the country is called “Vladimir V. Putin.” Can he change? I don’t want to give a categorical answer: A human being is too complicated a creature for that. But the chances are slim, as are the chances that Mr. Putin’s inner circle would allow him to cede his presidential powers, even temporarily, a second time. He will not control what follows him.

Khodorkovsky’s piece offers Russia’s one main solution to its current problems: