Vladimir Pereverzin’s Kafkaesque story is vividly told in this skilful translation of his shocking, but also wryly humorous and ultimately uplifting memoir, published originally in Russian in 2013.

It is the true story of how an ordinary man’s life was torn apart by the Kremlin. One day, Vladimir was a senior manager in Yukos, an oil and gas company based in Moscow, enjoying the good life; the next, he was plunged into the nightmarish world of Russia’s notoriously brutal prisons and penal colonies, including some in which political prisoner Alexei Navalny has been, and continues to be, held. His ‘crime’ was to have refused to give false evidence against Yukos owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky. For this, Pereverzin was sentenced to a lengthy and harsh incarceration.

As Russia has adopted new laws to punish people for sharing information about its ongoing ‘special operation’ in Ukraine, Vladimir’s striking memoir has become more relevant than ever.

‘A very Russian story, and topical for all times. Sadly including our own. Unless you’re immune to miscarriages of justice, read this book. It tells you how to become truly free when deprived of liberty. And how terrible ordeals can make you a stronger and better person.’ Boris Akunin, author of the Erast Fandorin series