Russian society is waking up and pushing back against Putin’s brand of authoritarianism, with the potential to bring about a transformation of the system into one based on the rule of law.

Russia has been in a post-empire state for the last 20 years. There is no way back to an empire now—Russia has passed the point of no return in this respect.

The harsh verdict for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko demonstrates that Ukraine’s leadership prioritizes removing the opposition’s strongest candidate before parliamentary elections above good relations with the West.

By arresting former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the Ukrainian authorities were trying to both weaken the domestic opposition and get Moscow to soften its stance on the gas prices. They appear to have failed to achieve either objective.

Enormous societal and political shifts 20 years ago opened prospects for a new, united Europe. Despite Russia’s role in this peaceful departure from totalitarianism, the country’s course in the subsequent two decades was not so straightforward. While the demolition of the Berlin Wall is no guarantee of success, democratic transformations are a necessary precondition.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 ushered in a time of momentous social and political change, including in Russia, but Russia’s development followed a different path than that of many Eastern European countries.

The 1861 reform sounded the death knell for Russian feudalism, and attempts by the ruling bureaucracy’s to restore some aspects of feudal government should have no place.

Yeltsin was a revolutionary who destroyed the old order rather than building a new system. As a result, his years in power were often turbulent, but ultimately he managed to help Russia avoid collapse and civil war.

Although Russia has officially recognized South Ossetia’s independence, neither Tskhinvali nor Moscow has clearly outlined the goals of a new state project or set out the mechanisms for its further development.

The use and misuse of history as a tool for political competition and control has become an increasingly visible phenomenon in public and political life in Russia and other post-Soviet countries over recent years.