A very interesting article by Yegor Gaidar from 2007 about his work on the collapse of the Soviet Union, with important insights and lessons for many of today's societies and international organizations. A quote:

[...] authoritarian regimes, although displaying a façade of strength, are fragile in crisis. In conditions of relative stability, society is prepared to tolerate the lack of real elections. People are prepared to come to terms with this situation as an inevitable and habitual evil. But they will do so only until the country encounters a seri- ous challenge [...]