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 earlier 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 second volume reflects upon critical characteristics of late and post-Soviet memories, ideologies, and politics of Russia. The volume's contributors are Kaarina Aitamurto (Helsinki), Boris Barkanov (Morgantown, WV), Alexander Etkind (Vienna), Mischa Gabowitsch (Mainz), Michael Kirkwood (Glasgow), Leonid Luks (Eichstätt), Andrey Makarychev (Tartu), Rosalind Marsh (Bath), Michael McFaul (Stanford, CA), Felix Riefer (Bonn), Mikhail D. Suslov (Copenhagen), Andreas Umland (Stockholm), Ilya Yablokov (Sheffield, UK), and Alexandra Yatsyk (Paris).