Special issue on cultures and practices of complaints in Russia and Eastern Europe, edited by Elena A. Bogdanova. Complaints are a peculiar phenomenon, as they represent a form of citizens' epistolary dialogue with the powers that be. In communicating their demands, their discontent, or their indignation, complainants frame their letters according to what they think is appropriate in a given sociopolitical context. In other words, a complaint is a peculiar social mirror, an idiosyncratic, culturally determined translation of legal ideas into the language of the law's users. Even though this law, as reflected in complaints, does not have any explicit norms, it nevertheless allows us to see the terms and rhetorical constructs expressing subjectivity and legal competency. ** Articles: * "Autobiography as Complaint: Polish Social Memoir between the World Wars," Katherine Lebow (English). * "Strategies of Complaint: Interest Organizations of GDR Staatssicherheit Coworkers after German Reunification," Amieke Bouma (English). * "Religious Justifications of Complaints Addressed to the President in Contemporary Russia," Elena A. Bogdanova (English). ** Essay: "'Give Me the Book of Complaints': Complaint in Post-Stalin Comedy," Milla Fedorova (English). **Review essays: "The Culture of Complaint: Approaches to Complaining in Russia-An Overview," Marianna Muravyeva (English). * "Protecting Rights in Strasbourg: Developing a Research Agenda for Analyzing International Litigation from Russia," Freek van der Vet (English)