THE KEY WOULD STILL FIT

Memories of Moscow | A prominent opposition figure on Russia’s history and politics

The new book by the renowned and multi-award-winning historian, journalist and author Irina Scherbakowa – shortlisted for the 2026 German Non-Fiction Prize

»This book, with all the courageous people – both great and small – who feature in it, is not just brilliantly written. It inspires hope.« From the citation for the nomination for the 2026 German Non-Fiction Prize

»One of the 10 best non-fiction books of 2025.« Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 3 December 2025

In *The Key Would Still Fit*, Irina Scherbakova recounts the brief years of perestroika. She describes everyday life and the political upheaval in Moscow and the countryside in the early 1990s. She depicts the unfamiliar freedom and how people learned, with some difficulty, to cope with it. Scherbakova also explores her own ongoing political activism and Russia’s seemingly unstoppable slide into dictatorship.  Her impressive recollections of Moscow are closely interwoven with the history of Russia in the 20th century and her lifelong struggle against state terror and in defence of remembrance. 

Irina Scherbakowa is one of Russia’s most prominent opposition figures. She is a co-founder of the human rights organisation Memorial, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. 

Cathrin Kahlweit, a long-standing correspondent for the *SZ*, journalist and presenter

The key would still fit
Droemer Knaur
25,00 €