Timothy Snyder, The Making of Modern Ukraine, Lecture #19: Oligarchies in Russia and Ukraine
For those who are not familiar with Timothy Snyder, he is the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. He speaks five and reads ten European languages, including both Ukrainian and Russian.
His book, “Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin,” which I highly recommend, is not only meticulously researched, it is essential reading for a complete understanding of WWII as well as Europe today.
I have undertaken to summarize all of Snyder’s lectures. I am also following along in the reading (see syllabus link below), which has not only been enlightening, but enjoyable. As always, my summaries are meant to be a guide, rather than a substitution for Snyder’s lectures.
I’ve just watched Timothy Snyder’s 19th lecture for his course, The Making of Modern Ukraine. This lecture was entited, “Oligarchies in Russia and Ukraine,” a topic which Snyder didn’t actually address. Instead, he talked about Poland.
The importance of Poland in Ukraine’s national formation can’t be overstated. In the 17th century, the Cossacks of southern Ukraine fought the Polish Empire with a tenacity that came to symbolize Ukraine’s ongoing quest for independence. In many respects, the struggle against Poland in the 1600s was the initial step towards the solidification of Ukraine as a state. For the next few centuries, Poland had an enormous influence over Ukraine, first in its capacity as a foe, then as a temporary ally against Russia, but, most importantly, as a gateway for the influx of western European ideas. (The Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment)
What Synder stressed throughout this class was that nations are “international events,” meaning it is only through contact with other nations — either by struggling against them or adopting their ideas — that nations are formed. This became manifestly clear when Poland recognized Ukraine’s national borders in 1989.
Prior to 1989, cracks were developing in the Soviet edifice. The eastern bloc countries were becoming fractious, especially during the economic decline of the late 1970s. To quiet them, Gorbachev introduced reforms (glasnost and perestroika) with the idea that concessions would take the wind out of the sails of the Soviet republics clamoring for change. But, predictably, as soon as the reforms were implemented — especially given a system as rigid and deeply entrenched as the Soviet system — all hell broke loose. (This was true of the Russian Empire as well. The Russian Revolution happened after Tsar Nicholas II began to make constitutional reforms.)
In Ukraine, dissidents had been clandestinely sharing their ideas within Ukraine, and also in the émigré community abroad (as well as in the Gulag), for some decades. But it was the Helsinki Accords in 1975 that impelled the dissidents to promote national identity as a fundamental human right. By the 1980s, this idea increasingly took hold, until Ukraine made its final bid for independence, aided by Poland, whose anti-authoritarian Solidarity movement inspired national sentiment in the rest of the eastern Soviet republics. So when Poland officially recognized Ukraine’s borders in 1989, the stage was set for Ukraine to declare its independence from the USSR, which — now lacking the eastern bloc and Baltic — fell apart shortly thereafter.
How does this relate to Ukraine today? Poland, which for centuries had been Ukraine’s enemy, is now its staunchest ally. Aside from the humanitarian reasons for which Poland has offered this support, there is also the undeniable reality that Ukraine is all that stands between Poland and Russia, which is once again flexing its imperial muscles.
Ivan Rudnitsky, in his essay “”The Political Thought of Soviet Ukrainian Dissidents,” writes that “ideas do have consequences.” The idea of sovereignty is one that Ukraine has cherished for several hundred years. It is clearly an idea that is currently having national and international consequences.
You can watch the 19th lecture of The Making of Modern Ukraine here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N2BDGKl0L8
The syllabus for the course is here: https://snyder.substack.com/p/syllabus-of-my-ukraine-lecture-class
You can watch all of Timothy Snyder’s lectures for The Making of Modern Ukraine here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNewfxO7LhBoz_1Mx1MaO6sw_
You can read my summaries of his lectures here: https://ericaverr.medium.com/
Erica Verrillo is the author of the Phoenix Rising Trilogy (Random House). Her short work has appeared in over a dozen publications. She is also the author of the definitive reference guide for treating myalgic encephalomyelitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Treatment Guide, now in its second edition (first edition, St. Martin’s). She holds degrees from Tufts University (BA — History) and Syracuse University (MA — Linguistics) as well as doctoral work in Linguistics, Anthropology, and Speech Communication. Her professional life includes: Spanish language editor for the journal Mesoamerica, linguistics instructor (Dartmouth), Spanish and ESL instructor (Syracuse University), classical musician (Oxford Symphony Orchestra), Mayan linguist (SUNY Albany), and director of a non-profit NGO for Mayan refugees. She is the president of the American Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to to serving the needs of patients and caregivers through support, advocacy, and education. Her writing blog, Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity, has received nearly 8 million page views. You are welcome to visit.
