Alexander F. Filippov is a professor of sociology and of philosophy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, and editor-in-chief of the Russian Sociological Review. His research interests include history of sociology, sociological theory and German sociologyNicolas Hayoz is a professor of political science at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), with the focus of teaching and research on political developments in Eastern Europe, mainly in the post-Soviet region, as well as on political sociology, political theory, and politics and lawJens Herlth is a professor of Slavic literatures at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). His research interests include Polish intellectual history, Russian and Polish literature in the context of the history of ideas, and the relationship between literature and the social sciences