The contributions in this special section deal with growing up in two post-Soviet states – Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. Each contribution has a different priority on the variety of forces that shape the wellbeing of children and youth as structured in the interaction between the efforts and abilities of their families, the state, as well as social and health policies in both national and cross-national contexts. In this special section, we understand infrastructure as places and institutions for day-care, education, leisure, social and health services. The papers identify barriers that children and young people encounter as they attempt to realize their potential and wishes in a variety of social, educational, and health contexts. These obstacles have something in common: they are rooted in a deficit of public and social infrastructure that is evident in these two states (European Commission, 2011; Sardarova, 2020; OECD, 2018; UNICEF, 2015).