Twenty years ago, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, the Soviet Union ended, and Russia began an imperfect transition to democratic capitalism — a transition that has proven to be far more difficult than expected.

Yet, the recent protests — somewhat similar to those that preceded the end of the Soviet Union — provide grounds for cautious optimism about the future.

So, what lessons can we draw from the successes and failures of Russia's last two decades of post-Soviet transition? And what lies ahead?