"Khodorkovsky's arrest and trial turned him into a cause célèbre for critics of the Kremlin; thankfully Sixsmith...avoids the impulse to lionize Khodorkovsky and by doing so, manages to give the reader a more complete portrait of a very complex man." -Ed Hancox, The Mantle

'Martin Sixsmith brings out all the political drama (and literary resonance) of the ongoing confrontation between Putin and the imprisoned entrepreneur Mikhail Khodorkovsky.' - Times Literary Supplement

'This history of the rise and fall of the Yukos company reads like a nineteenth century Russian novel in which titans battle for a nation's soul... We are grateful to Mr Sixsmith for the work he has done in telling this sordid story.'

Contemporary Review

"A bleak and well-researched look at the crooked roots of the Kremlin's energy empire" -Edward Lucas, Central & Eastern Europe Correspondent for The Economist, author of The New Cold War

"All the drama of a Hollywood thriller, but this is a chilling real life story - the unfinished battle for oil and political power in Russia. This meticulously researched and vividly told story is a must read for anyone who wants to understand today's Russia - a world where politics and big business form a deadly cocktail."-Angus Roxburgh, former Sunday Times Moscow correspondent and author of The Second Russian Revolution

"This is a penetrating inside look at the machinations in Russia's most crucial sector. Sixsmith has obtained unprecedented access to the players, inside the Kremlin and out, and his account of the dealings and dirty work up the chain of command to the President's office is both fascinating and appalling." --Don Murray, former CBC Moscow bureau chief and author of A Democracy of Despots