Like David I am battling against a Goliath that has almost immeasurable means and powerful
allies. I don´t think I can win I just want to be heard. No dictatorship lasts forever and if
my contribution can sooner or later bring about its downfall then I will have achieved what I
set out to do. The man waging this unequal war is Viktor Khrapunov. He used to be mayor of
Almaty Kazakhstan´s largest city and the country´s Energy Minister before he was forced into
exile. From Switzerland where he now lives with his family he brings charges against the rule
of Nursultan Nazarbayev which will soon reach its twenty-fifth year. Nazarbayev initially
welcomed as a young dynamic president has become a reckless and unpredictable dictator over
the years. From the abusive privatization of the country´s mineral resources and thriving
corruption to personal intrigues and the stone-cold elimination of political
opponents-Khrapunov´s account of the criminal wheeling and dealing of this self-styled ´ruler
of the nation´ tells it how it is. Based on Khrapunov´s insider knowledge from the hallways of
global power his story is also a revelation of Western apathy towards a brutal dictatorial
regime. This gripping autobiographical narrative helps the reader understand how Kazakhstan has
developed politically from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the modern day and how it can
blossom into a democratic state.
