Contributor(s): Professor Tomila Lankina | Three decades after the collapse of communism in Europe, a number of post-communist states experienced democratic back-sliding or embraced authoritarianism. In her inaugural lecture, Tomila Lankina discusses how her research into the durability of social structure of pre-communist Russia— elements of which she argues survived the revolutionary experiment to engineer a new society—helps explain democratic resilience and backsliding in Russia and other contexts. Tomila Lankina is Professor of Politics and International Relations at the LSE’s International Relations Department; her current research focuses on comparative democracy and authoritarianism, mass protests and historical patterns of human capital and democratic reproduction in Russia and other states. Peter Trubowitz (@ptrubowitz) is Department Head of International Relations and Director of the US Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Associate Fellow at Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs. The Department of International Relations (@LSEIRDept) is now in its 90th year, making it one of the oldest as well as largest in the world. They are ranked 5th in the QS World University Ranking by Subject 2018 tables for Politics and International Studies. Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSELankina