For Europe, the 24th of February 2022 marked a historic turning point. Until then, many decision-makers and commentators did not understand that developments in post-communist Russia can lead to the biggest war in Europe since 1945. These two collected volumes illustrate some of the factors preparing this tragic escalation. They assemble select papers published mainly in the Germany-based Journal of Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society and Forum für osteuropäische Ideen- und Zeitgeschichte (Forum for the Contemporary History and Ideas of Eastern Europe). This first volume reflects upon some critical characteristics of the late Soviet and post-Soviet elites, institutions, and society of Russia. The volume’s contributors are Håvard Bækken (Oslo), Olenka Dmytryk (Kyiv), Rolf Fredheim (Riga), Konstantin Kaminskij (Berlin), Leonid Luks (Eichstätt), Chris Monday (Seoul), Alexander J. Motyl (New Brunswick), Felix Riefer (Bonn), Natalia Samover (Moscow), Simon Schlegel (Kyiv), and Maria Snegovaya (Washington, DC).