The author presents a brief review of a monumental book by his colleague Viktor Sheinis “Power and Law. Politics and Constitutions in Russia in ÕÕ–ÕÕI Ñenturies”. The author focuses mainly on three subjects: was the victory of Stalin’s political line inevitable after Vladimir Lenin’s death; what were the roots and causes of the Great Terror; why did the Soviet system collapse in 1991 and was Boris Yeltsin's rule a natural consequence of this event.