What if Russia were a thriving democratic society today? Would there be war in Ukraine? Maybe these are impossible questions to answer at the moment, but important as it is to consider the factor of NATO enlargement after the Cold War, it is equally vital to understand Russian's internal dynamics when assessing the causes of Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine. When the USSR left the historical stage, the new Russian state tried to complete the transition from Communist dictatorship and a command economy to democracy and free market capitalism. Well before Vladimir Putin rose to power, this transition, which would have been difficult under the best of circumstances, had already disastrously failed. In this episode Veronica Anghel, an expert on Eastern European politics and security, discusses the critical 1990s in Russia, as well as what the war in Eastern Europe today will mean for "strongman politics" and refugees.