Ukraine is at the center of the current fight for freedom and democracy in the world.
It is impossible to understand the First World War, the Second World War, the terrors of the Stalinist regime, the Holocaust, or the collapse of the Soviet Union without understanding Ukraine's role in these world events.
Russia, an aging tyranny, seeks to destroy Ukraine, a defiant democracy, but Ukraine's strength is not just military; it is moral. Ukrainians are serving as an example--to Europe and the world--showing that democracy is fundamentally ethical and valuable.
To support Ukraine is to support democracy—not just there, but everywhere.
Articles & Essays
Substack, February 2023
The Road to Unfreedom, Bloodlands, Black Earth, The Reconstruction of Nations, The Red Prince, and Sketches from a Secret War: these six books by Professor Snyder illuminate Ukraine’s history, imperial legacies, and resistance. He explains how each book contributes to understanding the current war and Ukraine’s democratic significance.
Radio Davos, February 2023
Professor Snyder explores how centuries of empire, repression, and independence movements shaped Ukraine’s civic identity. He highlights key historical events that explain its democratic trajectory and global relevance.
The New Yorker Radio Hour, September 2024
Freedom, from a Ukrainian framing, is not merely the absence of tyranny, but a civic responsibility. Professor Snyder highlights the shift from “liberated” to “de-occupied”, how it is but the first part of step to actually making people free, and its implications for democratic agency.
Videos
Ukraine’s democratic resilience has made it a model for pluralism and civic agency around the world. Professor Snyder argues that its victory over tyrannical Russia is essential for global democratic renewal and global resistance to authoritarianism.
(March 2023 - 9 mins)
Professor Snyder presents Ukraine as central to twentieth-century transitions from empire to integration. He challenges assumptions that Ukraine is or ever was peripheral to global affairs, showing how its history reshapes global narratives.
(June 2017 - 1 hr 31 mins)
In this comprehensive lecture series tracing Ukraine’s political development, statehood, and identity formation, Professor Snyder challenges simplified narratives and frames the Russian invasion as a genocidal attempt to erase sovereignty.
(September 2022 - 47 minutes)
Books
The Nazi and Soviet regimes turned Eastern Europe—especially Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus—into sites of mass murder, resulting in over 14 million civilian deaths. This award-winning book explores the interconnected nature of these atrocities, which were driven by ideology, bureaucracy, and territorial ambition. Professor Snyder explains how the region is central to understanding the logic of totalitarian violence.
(Published 2010)
The Holocaust is at the center of the collapse of state institutions, ecological instability, and ideological mythmaking in the 20th century. Drawing on overlooked Eastern European sources, Professor Snyder demonstrates how mass killing became possible when law and truth were dismantled. The Holocaust is thus a warning about the dangers of statelessness, propaganda, and unchecked power.
(Published 2015)