Exclusive interview with Professor Timothy Snyder, historian | Ukraine: The Latest

Day 646.
In today's special episode, we sit down with one of our most requested guests: Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, Professor Timothy Snyder. A critically-acclaimed author and a renowned historian specialising in Ukraine, he is famous for his online lectures and commentary on the war.
This interview was facilitated by the charity United24, who - with his support - are fundraising for a new air defence system via their project ‘Safe Skies’. You can read more about that project here: u24.gov.ua/safeskies
Contributors:
Professor Timothy Synder. @TimothyDSnyder on Twitter.
David Knowles (Head of Audio Development). @DJKnowles22 on Twitter.
Dom Nicholls (Associate Editor, Defence). @DomNicholls on Twitter.
Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor). @FrancisDearnley on Twitter.
Subscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatest
Email: [e-mail]

[@teddited9682]

So few can use words like Professor Snyder: to explain without aggression, to make his ideas easily understandable and very interesting! No wonder his Yale classes on Ukraine are so popular! I have watched all of them and was mesmerized…students that were able to take his classes are very lucky!

[@jordanaus75]

This guy is an absolute legend! Thanks so much for having him on!

[@colinjames2469]

Legend? Get real.

[@jordanaus75]

@colinjames2469 A Yale Professor and one of the world's leading experts on Ukrainian and Russian history. Knows how to cut through Putin's propaganda and pseudo history of grandiose Russia. What's your story, a Russian bot or a useful idiot?

[@DrHarrisJensen]

Yeah, if this dialogue could be written out. Mind expanding and expanding with an understanding of freedom in world history'

[@peterparicka7933]

@@colinjames2469you’re a Putin sympathizer … frak off

[@moffig1]

One of the best experts on Ukraine and eastern Europe. Thamks for bringing him on

[@richardhouser508]

It is always such a pleasure to listen to Professor Timothy Snider! Good job! Slava Ukraine! UA!

[@DrHarrisJensen]

How does he get his ideas?

[@innademchenkof3250]

Thanks for your support!

[@nurseSean]

39:26 “He did something with me that I’ve never seen another politician do. He talked to me about what I wanted to talk about “ ❤️💙💛

[@edwardgaunt7307]

Brilliant analysis by Snyder. His "Bloodlands" is a must read to understand the regional background. We must not betray Ukraine and support the fight against Russia.

[@MonteRosa849]

This is the reason I tune into the “Telegraph” each and every day! Highest quality journalism combined with highest quality guests! 🇺🇦✌️

[@dessmith7658]

Top sarcasm there

[@DrHarrisJensen]

I talk with friends in UkraINE ANd then this interview. My mind expands Lots of different ways. Ukraine has been a germinal seed of new ideas for western civilization

[@dessmith7658]

@@DrHarrisJensen er okay

[@janclaro6839]

@@DrHarrisJensen 👍Good one. 👍

[@robbie_]

Always very interesting to listen to Dr Snyder. I read his book, Bloodlands, some time ago. I found it almost unbelievable to be honest. Many things of which I cannot really conceive happened mere three or four decades before I was born.

[@anitazigoi]

Thanks to the Telegrah for these podcasts. An immense service in educating the public

[@williamdoyle777]

One of the best interviews of a working historian and Snyder ever. Pulled the thread on the intellectual history of Ukraine. WOW, great job. Computer Scientist from Florida

[@DrHarrisJensen]

This is epic. Snyder relates his source. It is the people of Ukraine who teach him about freedom and what it is all about. Yeah. happy to have listened to him and Ukraine. Only World History is up for grabs.

[@casard5235]

Always a pleasure listening to Dr. Timothy Snyder. Thanks for the history lessons and viewpoints and the Q and A.

[@joiedevie3901]

This man is absolutely brilliant. His scholarship is not only impeccable, but his analysis of what he has found over the years is instructive both as examples of clear, soritical conclusions as well as in exposing how our misinterpretation of history--whether willful or ignorant--gets in the way of recognizing our biases in creating narratives that we swear are right when they are not. His point about the geographic location of the Amazons being on the Black Sea in the Scythian region changes the preconception of them being "Greek." That accurate geographic citation, as well as others tying the shores of the Black Sea to the "cradle" of western civilization lets us know that our history is more complex than what we learned in our "Weekly Readers" back in the day.

[@rhendersbee685]

Gem, gem, gems like gravel on a road. Brilliant perspectives and insight.

[@sparkcommunications2499]

I'm only 10minutes in and already this is one of the best Podcasts of the whole series, this Professor Snyder is a beast!

[@IusedtohaveausernameIliked]

Your guest Timothy Snyder is excellent in his analysis. What a smart guy. And it was smart of the Telegraph to put him on. Well done. Slava Ukraini!

[@LifeSPANWashington]

A fantastic episode! Дякую!

[@StretchMedia]

I love listening to Timothy Snyder talk on Ukraine and slavic countries. I watched all of his Yale Ukraine/Russia classes on KZbin and have seen him talk many other times. I listen to Ukraine the latest daily i believe. Always smart talks, topics, guests and hosts. Slava Ukraini

[@DaniRaj666]

Love Snyder! So knowledgeable.

[@user-fm5hx3rh5q]

A profound combination of thinkers, observers, writers and reader. I'm going to wait 24 hours and listen again. I've been tuned into Professor Synder since before the war, he was on my Twitter feed, I try to catch anything on KZbin. Before Trump's "perfect phone call" Ukraine was unknown to me; the USSR was lumped together. I'm looking forward to the new book. But more than that, I am trying to figure out how to fight for democracy here in the US.

[@stream2watch]

I wonder if the Russians have anything even halfway as relevant. I doubt it, since they have to go into any discussion on the topic accepting a certain set of lies before proceeding.

[@kevinleecaster2698]

Dr. Snyder's class on the history of Ukraine last fall was excellent. Stalemate also seems to minimize the suffering of Ukrainians. I also don't think we should ignore the suffering of the Russian population caused by Putin.

[@darrencorrigan8505]

Thanks, Telegraph.

[@TheCkap35]

Incredible interview! Thanks.

[@ehzimmer]

Timothy Snyder is a gift to the rest of us...

[@dessmith7658]

A grift certainly

[@ralphreg1]

I find this podcast very informative, today's especially, we don't get in-depth reporting on Ukraine here in Australia, the professor and his knowledge of Ukrainian history had my ears locked to my laptop, I can understand why he is in demand

[@nurseSean]

5:16 “fatigue is a concept which I just find ridiculous and absurd. … the guy who runs the race is the one who gets fatigued. The guy who stands by the side of the road and hands out the Gatorade doesn’t get fatigued “ I love this. Разом Ми переможемо

[@dessmith7658]

Handing out the Kool-Aid

[@nurseSean]

@@dessmith7658 хочешь чаю, Иван?

[@anthonyhulse1248]

Excellent interview. 😊

[@Jeanne90275]

Having devoured everything on KZbin by Timothy Snyder, it was exciting to find a new and equally informative interview with him.

[@stephendenehey2809]

What an incredible guest ❤

[@techno9090]

Really insightful interview. Wish it could be a lot longer. Thanks from an engineer in SoCal.

[@kirstenmadsen2628]

Looonnngg awaited interview 👏👏🤸👍

[@wolfbear7]

One of the best interviews ever. Dr. Snyder is intelligent and not full of it. I have fond memories of my late wife playing the carillon in HarknessTower at Yale.

[@raymondlaing5868]

Wonderful program. Dr. Snyder's series of lectures about Ukraine is available on KZbin and I highly recommend them.

[@suematheson5028]

Great interview! Thanks!

[@billowink6821]

What very fine professor this is. Great interview.

[@danielveselic8677]

We need to protect Dr. Snyder at all costs, such an important figure in these dire times.

[@ronaldwolfe]

Thanks so much. I had not heard Prof Snyder before. What a treat!

[@wernertognetti5956]

Thanks for this excellent conversation ❤️🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦❤️

[@williamt.swanson4861]

Thank heavens for Timothy Snyder 🙏🙏🙏

[@brocluno01]

Excellent episode.

[@kg192538]

Well done!

[@user-zp8sp4hj3d]

Bravo! Brilliant!

[@RoxanneM-]

What a pleasure to listen to professor Snyder.

[@Aaron-rw3lv]

American politicians need to be listening to voices like Timothy Snyder if they don’t want to end up having their nation fight another brutal war in Europe.

[@dylanthomas12321]

Yes, I wish they would take the time to educated themselves, call committee hearings now and then not to investigate or posture for the cameras, but to ask a panel of three or four distinguished experts for their views, advice, some history on a particular issue. In this case, Ukraine, but it might be anything. I rather doubt they could muster the bipartisan humility to do it. But it would be instructive for the policymakers, and perhaps the nation who could watch on CSPAN, KZbin, etc. Imagine, bringing some of our great minds together on occasion. It would seem like.... democracy.

[@Mariupol_is_Ukraine]

Thanks Timothy Snyder 🫶🏻!

[@taxofonas]

Timothy Snyder is excellent; someone with great moral clarity!

[@michaeljohnson3256]

Great interview!

[@CharlieNordlinger]

Just the most enlightening person in world.

[@jstnaguglu3380]

Fantastic interview! TY

[@arthurarthur6083]

Very informative episode

[@shosh63]

Thanks! Great episide

[@alopam]

It's always refreshing to listen to a real expert, one that thinks in terms of video games, not real war!

[@lancechapman3070]

I love professor Snyder and I love The Latest. I am fulfilled :)

[@vitoroliveirajorge368]

Glory to Ukraine!

[@tenareze32]

Timothy Snyder’s incisive intellect is impressive as well as his articulate replies. He can retain several questions and answer them in various orders. I have dipped into his book the Road to Unfreedom, but I found it rather academic in places with so many references. Some parts are more accessible to the general reader and his message is important. He is particularly concerned that we may be sleepwalking into a loss of individual liberty, especially by abuse of social media. The parallel with the brutal suppression of liberty by Russia is clear, but our surreptitious slide to unfreedom should not be overlooked.

[@emildavidsen1404]

I'm more and more convinced things have to get alot worse before they get better simply because we(humans) seem to have base need to relearn hard lessons every 3-4 generations because the knowledge has died off. Our technology evolves but we don't & its still too cheap to act stupidly today.

[@Josh-ev3tw]

Timothy Snyder is awesome!

[@blakekeithley3400]

So many good points a great interview. The best may have been the last and indo European development related up ancient Ukraine.

[@jarmen49]

"The Horse, the Wheel, and Language" David Anthony

[@peterparicka7933]

Wonderful interview

[@user-zc7oi3kd3i]

I like the marathon metaphor I'm going to use it😮

[@rossr6616]

Timothy always provides my reading list for the next month or three !

[@alecmartin88]

Great to hear an academic doing discourse analysis and critical social constructionism on the Telegraph. Now imagine then applying that to things like Brexit and our own Colonial history

[@WangAiHua]

Excellent guest ! Excellent speaker!

[@desdicadodog8452]

Fantastic interview

[@AnthonySpringall]

War is a marathon, not a sprint.

[@daydays12]

Usually, yes.

[@dominiquecharriere1285]

If such is the case, then Russia always wins at the end. Against the greatest armies in History: Mongols, Napoleon, Wehrmacht.

[@pierresaelen3097]

​@@dominiquecharriere1285Crimean War the Russo-Japanese War...?

[@stream2watch]

@@dominiquecharriere1285 Russia lost against the Mongols FYI. They only won over Germany due to lend lease and allies, the same allies that this time are on Ukraine's side.

[@anthonyhulse1248]

@@dominiquecharriere1285from Ivan the Terrible to Putin Russia has lost 19 wars.

[@desdicadodog8452]

My god. Amazing podcast

[@krzysztoflechowski5745]

What a great interview, prof. Snyder is category of one

[@vitoroliveirajorge368]

Timothy Snyder, a great historian and a lucid defensor of Ukraine.

[@crimeajewel]

Up untill this war most people never thought of Ukraine. When I first visited in 2000 there were virtually no western people there. That started changing after 2014.

[@buddyrojek9417]

Peacecorps were definitely active there in 2006 when I visited . I had some interaction with them and I was a little annoyed . I did feel USA was grooming the next generation

[@peterparicka7933]

Snyder is awesome 🎉

[@anitazigoi]

Timothy Synder is a giant of a human being. A gentle giant with an immense capacity to integrate a moral perspective with his more intellectual pursuits. His intellectual scope is forever expanding and is he not afraid to critically exam his ideas with honesty and humility. He is just not an original and convincing writer and thinker, but he is also a doer...a man who is unafraid to act in support of his ideas and moral convictions. I wish there were more people like him.

[@PopkornStar]

Amazing episode! Please invite prof Snyder more!!!!

[@OneAdam12Adam]

Powerful interview!

[@gianmarionava]

Outstanding

[@notme-oj3pc]

Woe as always knocking it out of the park

[@ilyaporkalov2006]

Great interview. Kudos to Snyder

[@pastorDbow]

Timothy Snyder is great, I buy two of audio books Amazon.

[@midimusicforever]

Don't give Putler an inch! We need to support Ukraine!

[@michaeldarling1759]

Right on! Finally somebody calling out that the words exhaustion, fatigue, stale mate, are bullshit. These are words used by people who are bored or outright hostile to the defence of Ukraine. Buzzwords in the info-war.

[@dessmith7658]

Delusional is another one

[@williammorris584]

Please also consider an interview with the preeminent historian Stephen Kotkin.

[@cliveengel5744]

The Canadian Ukrainian League has been under pressure in Canada as most of their original members were from Polish Galicia and Volhynia and fought in the Waffen SS known as the Galicia Division; they all came to Britain after the war as displaced persons, and because of their status as Poles when Galicia and Vilhynia were Polish at that time. They were all allowed to immigrate to Canada. “CIUS co-founder Peter Savaryn, who served as U of A’s chancellor from 1982 to 1986, was a Galicia Division veteran. Savaryn received the Order of Canada in 1987. In 2011, the CIUS established endowments in the names of three Waffen-SS veterans - Roman Kolisnyk, Levko Babij, and Edward Brodacky - according to a September 2012 article in the Journal of Slavic Military Studies by Lund University historian Per Anders Rudling.

[@lylaclark3977]

I am so glad we have Professor Timothy Synder to make us all critically think with all the knowledge he imparts in his books and Lectures... what each of us can in our own agency and moral compass do to help Ukraine.... in donating to United 24 Ukraine Naval Drone Fleet 🇺🇦 ✅, And boycotting those Western Companies that are still doing business in Russia (eg. Uniliver etc etc ) as innocent Civillians are blown up daily by Russians, and their Infrastructure and their homes....we all must do our part, as so many do taking in Ukrainian War Refugees all across Europe, everyone must play their part to help Victory come to Ukraine and its People, Govt and Defenders. Slava Ukraine 🇺🇦💛

[@lylaclark3977]

Listen from Dublin 👍

[@RevP369]

15:59 Bloodlands is a great book. The sad thing is that it’s happening again

[@marblackCanada]

Hello from 🇨🇦

[@atomic3141]

Highly recognized is highly suspect.. Fabulous guest and no fluff. Intellectual thought is very refreshing to pontificating on many podcasts. Words matter. Resistance is a real deterrent and self supply a view of real world history.

[@hififlipper]

great interview!

[@karelvsedlacek9333]

Please also interview Kurt Volker as his views on Ukraine and NATO are important. He is providing an accurate reading of the NATO charter especially Article 5 vis a vis a situation such as Ukraine. Also, consider a panel conversation as we are at a critical juncture.

[@alienware18]

Romania here!!! Checked in!!!

[@dessmith7658]

Don't get involved

[@mikemccarthy1638]

Romania, please continue to stay involved! Finish your progress towards EU membership and, hopefully, reintegration with Moldova so they become part of the EU as well!

[@kirstenmadsen2628]

The Horse, the Wheel and the Stirrup 👍🙋

[@georgemcbride7857]

That is a great book.

[@dessmith7658]

Whatever that means

[@Palaciofilin]

El profesor Snyder habla con una claridad que te quedas frío.

[@johnashton4086]

A light is shining....

[@dessmith7658]

It's a train

[@davewilson6022]

WELL SAID MR SNYDER

[@Jesse-ey5xd]

🙏🇺🇦✌️🖖

[@yuritarnowecky7971]

❤

[@gillesmeura3416]

Bloodlands, the Tyranny videos in 2016, and the Ukraine lectures in the fall of 2022: Timothy Snyder has been on the leading edge of Open Societies for many years now.

[@MarieGobeille]

🙏💯 💙💛

[@fredschnerbert1238]

From: Listening from Southern Knee of the San Andreas fault Edge of the County of Angels

[@MegaKnodel]

This is an avengers level crossover

[@daydays12]

I don't understand one word of this statement.

[@user-dmytro92]

I understand every word of this statement. I agree

[@dessmith7658]

Explain please

[@mikecrampton7086]

The highly complimentary comments below suggest that they are written by someone who works for the Telegraph??

[@zdravkoavdalovic3131]

Get well soon