Timothy Snyder, The Making of Modern Ukraine, Lecture #4: Before Europe
Given the importance of the war in Ukraine — at both the regional and international level — I was compelled to learn more about Ukraine, for despite the fact that I majored in history, I know nothing about the history of eastern Europe. Timothy Snyder’s course, The Making of Modern Ukraine, which has been generously posted on Youtube, has given me that opportunity. This is a pivotal moment in history, so I feel a need to understand all that I can.
For those who are unfamiliar with Timothy Snyder, he is a Yale historian whose focus is on Central and Eastern Europe. His book, “Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin,” is not only meticulously researched, it is essential reading for understanding WWII and its aftermath.
I have undertaken to summarize Snyder’s lectures, because Snyder has a tendency to digress. And even though these digressions are interesting, they can sometimes make it difficult to focus on Snyder’s main points. My summaries are meant to be a guide, rather than a substitution for Snyder’s enlightening lectures.
Timothy Snyder’s fourth lecture focused on Europe before Europe. That concept may seem contradictory, but before the concept of Europe existed there were a number of geographical, politcal, and cultural entities occupying the area we now call Europe. One of the first empires was Ancient Greece, which extended to the Black Sea and southern Ukraine. Greece was followed by the Roman Empire, which, contrary to popular thought, never “fell,” but continued as Byzantium. (Constantinople, the seat of Byzantium, was the largest city in Europe for a thousand years, right up until the Crusaders sacked it.) Regionally, there were the Slavic states, the first of which was Moravia, founded in 822 AD. The area in which Slavic languages are spoken dwarfs Western Europe in all respects. (There are 400 million speakers of Slavic languages. The word “slovo” literally means “word,” thus Slavs are “people of the word.”)
The early history of Europe is relevant because Ukraine was a region of importance to the Ancient Greeks, not just in economic terms (i.e. the production of wheat), but in establishing the north-south axis of the ancient wordview. In the ancient world, the south was known territory, particularly around the Mediterranean, while the north was exotic. This is quite different from the east-west axis of the modern Western worldview, which considers the east exotic, and therefore unknowable. (This accounts for the short shrift given to eastern Europe in my European history courses.)
Snyder also discussed the introduction of Christianity and Islam to the region, and how these related to slavery. Because the inhabitants of Ukraine were pagans, they were subject to slavery by both of the prevailing monotheistic religions, Islam and Christianity. (The Crimean Tatars were notorious slavers, capturing as many as one million people in Slavic areas for sale to the Ottoman Empire.) Once the Slavs converted to Christianity they could no longer be enslaved by Christians, which provided an incentive for the rulers of Slavic lands to officially convert.
One question that Snyder raised at the beginning of his lecture was: “Why is it that things that happen in the world always seem to catch us unawares?” (He was obliquely referring to the invasion of Ukraine.) Historians, Synder said, are not surprised by anything. I can confirm this. Those who study history don’t maintain that history repeats itself, but we do have a broad view of the kinds of things that human beings do. And within that broad view, nothing is surprising.
You can watch the fourth lecture of The Making of Modern Ukraine here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhCK5uGJ3Tw
The syllabus for the course is here: https://snyder.substack.com/p/syllabus-of-my-ukraine-lecture-class
You can read all of my summaries here: https://ericaverr.medium.com/
Erica Verrillo is the author of three MG fantasies (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 Anthropology and Speech Communication. Her professional life includes working as Spanish language editor for Mesoamerica, linguistics instructor (Dartmouth), classical musician (Oxford Symphony Orchestra), director of a non-profit NGO for Mayan refugees, and Mayan linguist (SUNY Albany). 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 blog, Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity has received nearly 8 million page views. You are welcome to visit.
