“I came of age as the borders of the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia embraced the West,” historian Anastasia Edel wrote in March. “Back then, it seemed that after a decades-long totalitarian detour, Russia had finally found its true path—that of a free, democratic country. Now I’m forced to revise, yet again, my assumptions about what Russia is and what it will become.”

In this edition of Flash Points, historians, journalists, and analysts examine Moscow’s propaganda machine, the books Russians are reading, the country’s fascist youth, and more to piece together what’s been going on inside Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.—Chloe Hadavas

A Day Inside Putin’s Surreal Television Empire

The nonstop blare of Russian state media fuels the war effort—and blurs reality, Anastasia Edel writes.

For Russians, Reading Is the New Resistance

What bestselling books tell us about how Russians are processing the war, according to Andrei Kolesnikov.

Russia’s Frighteningly Fascist Youth

A new generation of Russians glorifies war, death, and Vladimir Putin, Ian Garner writes.

Why Isn’t Russia a Democracy?

The country wasn’t preordained to despotism or a clash with the West, Lucian Kim writes.

Staring Down the Black Hole of Russia’s Future

A Ukrainian victory may be the country’s only chance at long-term salvation, Anastasia Edel writes.