Russia's War, Ukraine's History, and the West's Options
In Russia's invasion of Ukraine, history was presented as justification for war. Is there any resemblance between Russian justifications and historical consensus? What does it mean when ethnic claims trump international law? And should hate propaganda be seen simply as an instrument in one war, or an element of a larger strategy to destabilize the West?
Timothy Snyder is one of the world’s foremost scholars of Central and Eastern Europe, and the author of numerous critically acclaimed works of history, including Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), and The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999 (2003). During the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, he has been a visible public intellectual, addressing questions of historical memory, narrative, and reconciliation both in his writing and through his public activism.
Presentation by:
Timothy Snyder
Bird White Housum Professor of History, Yale University
Moderated by:
Jeffrey Mankoff
Deputy Director and Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS
