Short answers, pulled from the story.
Mount Elbrus reaches 5,642 metres above sea level, making it the highest point in Russia and, by the convention that places the Europe-Asia boundary along the main Caucasus watershed, the highest peak in Europe. Its western summit is 21 metres higher than its eastern summit, which stands at 5,621 metres.
The eastern summit was first climbed on the 10th of July 1829 by Khillar Khashirov, a Circassian guide accompanying an Imperial Russian army scientific expedition led by General Georgi Emmanuel. The higher western summit was first reached in 1874 by a British expedition led by F. Crauford Grove.
Mount Elbrus is classified as a dormant stratovolcano. Its last eruption is estimated to have occurred around AD 50. Fumaroles still escape from the eastern flank and hot springs rise on the slopes, but the volcano is not currently active.
German Gebirgsjäger troops from the 1st Mountain Division occupied the area around Elbrus from August 1942 to February 1943 as part of the Battle of the Caucasus. A detachment planted the Nazi swastika flag on the summit on the 21st of August 1942. Soviet army mountaineers removed the flags on the 13th and the 17th of February 1943.
The Elbrus Race is a mountaineering speed competition run over a long route from the Azau Meadow at 2,350 metres to the western summit. The full race record of 4 hours, 20 minutes, and 45 seconds was set on the 7th of May 2017 by Swiss-Ecuadorian mountain guide Karl Egloff, breaking the previous record by more than 18 minutes.
The average annual death toll on Elbrus is 15-30 people, primarily attributed to unorganised and poorly equipped attempts. Despite this, the normal southern route is not technically difficult; the hazards stem mainly from extreme altitude, sudden blizzard conditions, and winds that can exceed 100 kilometres per hour even in summer.