Vladimir Pastukhov (b. 1963) is a well-known researcher of Russian politics, publicist and lawyer, Doctor of Political Sciences, member of the editorial boards of the magazines “Polis” and “Comparative Constitutional Review”, regular contributor to “Polit.ru”, “Novaya Gazeta”, "Arguments of the Week" and other publications. Due to his participation as a defense lawyer in the Hermitage case, he was forced to leave Russia in 2008. He is currently a staff member at St Antony's College University of Oxford. The book is the final work that sums up the author's twenty years of study of Russian power and Russian law in the era of the post-communist historical inter-season.