DISMANTLING THE IMPERIALIST MINDSET: MIKHAIL ZYGAR IN CONVERSATION WITH FIONA HILL

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought new salience to the subject of Russia’s colonial legacy and its impact on the country’s society and politics. The imperialist politics driving Russia’s Ukraine policy have brought new scrutiny from analysts and activists - both Russian and foreign - seeking to better understand the influence of Russia’s imperial history on its present.
In his haunting and unique new book, War and Punishment, Russian journalist and historian Mikhail Zygar interrogates the Kremlin’s current justifications for its brutal war and debunks the historical myths that have supported Russian imperialism over the centuries. Through examining 350 years of history, Zygar seeks to dismantle the imperialist mindset that has shaped Russian foreign policy and explain how colonialism and chauvinism continues to shape how many Russians view Ukraine. From debunking the claim that Russia and Ukraine were co-founded to outlining the pattern of anti-Ukrainian persecution from one era to the next, the book makes significant contributions to ongoing conversations about the legacy of empire and the importance of coming to terms with the past for a democratic future in Russia.
Please join us for a conversation with Mikhail Zygar, Press Freedom Fellow at CUNY’s Journalism Protection Initiative and a columnist for Der Spiegel, and Fiona Hill, senior fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe within the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, as they discuss War and Punishment and why understanding the Kremlin’s motivations toward Ukraine today is crucial for policy-making and planning for the future.
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[@mentorkawirachats8006]

If you don't know where you came from, you can't tell where you are going; the power of knowing your history.

[@ldhorricks]

This needs to be seen by more people...oddly it's really under the radar

[@lasalleny]

Thank you so much for this discussion. I search wherever I can find Fiona Hill and I also keep running across Mikhail Zygar. Now I will search both in addition to looking for his new book.

[@Unmoved12345]

Great conversation.

[@MrHmjg]

amazing man!

[@user-yi1qp1ch7s]

If Americans address their own imperialism, their own exceptionalism, the world will be a better place.

[@colby25]

So what territory has imperialist america annexed or colonised? Im british and i think were exceptional too especially now we dont do proper imperialism anymore.

[@lucysteiner4556]

Understanding history is very important. Understanding US and UK imperialism is critical to understanding geopolitics today. Understanding Israel’s capture of US and UK foreign policy is also critical to dismantling this biased narrative in the so called discussion. It’s not a discussion- it’s propaganda.

[@lucysteiner4556]

If this guy is such a good journalist how could he have been taken by surprise by Feb 2022? Lots of people saw it coming…

[@colby25]

Most people in the UK, including me and many experts on putins russia, were very surprised by the invasion, tho maybe not so much by the supposed 3 day regime change that was later revealed to be the original aim. Yanukovych was ready to be flown in from belorus apparently.

[@mitchyoung93]

LOL, the irony of interviewing a longtime member of the US foreign policy establshment (one from a British background no less), is truly breathtaking.

[@barrysteven5964]

She worked in her capacity only as an advisor on Russian matters being an expert in the field. She took no responsibility for policy decisions and under Trump her advice was routinely ignored anyway. Also is it not equally an irony that so many people who think of themselves as progressive or liberal use this attitude (that the west is imperialist) in order to excuse, apologise for and turn a blind eye to Russian expansionist and imperialist designs as though they were somehow better for simply being on the other side of the fence to the west? It's both patronising and hypocritical.

[@nurabusnaq6367]

@@barrysteven5964Hear! Hear! Also Fiona Hill helped save Democracy in the United States of America. She is not ‘posh’ she’s from a family of coal miners from Yorkshire. Solid people. Most American leftists have No Idea about the British class system.

[@lucysteiner4556]

The US always say- ‘we were only helping, offering our help’. This guy has got the stories around the wrong way…

[@lucysteiner4556]

It’s hard to debate because it is not true…

[@lucysteiner4556]

I prefer Putins history lesson.

[@barrysteven5964]

Русский военный тролл - иди .. ...!

[@colby25]

You would do if your one of his state funded online trolls.

[@I_Fight_Instacart]

This guy demonstrates why democracy is a terrible system. Russia was wise to drive people like him out of their country.