2024-01-20 06:10:00
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Timothy Snyder is one of the world’s leading Ukraine experts. For him, something historic is happening in Ukraine.
Burning houses, people running away from explosions, grieving mothers: images from everyday war life alternate on wall-filling screens in the rhythm of a heartbeat. The exhibition in the Ukraine House at the WEF makes it clear once again: Ukraine is in the middle of a fight for its own existence.
“This battle is a turning point in world history,” says Timothy Snyder, a history professor at Yale University. Comparable to the First and Second World Wars, both of which brought radical changes.
Putin cannot tolerate the existence of a vibrant democracy in his immediate neighborhood
“Historical shifts can already be identified,” says Snyder. The historian has been following the history and present of Ukraine for decades. Since the beginning of the war, he has been campaigning for global support for the country. What is striking to him is how Ukraine has become an equal partner in the last two years: “Instead of making decisions about Ukraine over Ukraine’s head, as was the case before the war, we are now meeting on equal terms.”
Legend: Ukraine was under the rule of foreign powers for a long time. Given the country’s colonial history, the new relationship between Western states and Kiev is remarkable, says historian Timothy Snyder. Getty Images/Global Images/Kostiantyn Hutsenko
Snyder also sees the roots of the current conflict in this colonial history. This is clearly evident in Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric: “To deny sovereignty to another people, another state, is entirely in the tradition of European colonialism.” Added to this is the different development of Ukraine and Russia since the end of the Soviet Union – another reason for the war: “Putin cannot tolerate the existence of a vibrant democracy in the immediate vicinity,” says Snyder.
The post-Soviet space – as a common cultural area – no longer exists at least since the Russian attack: the models of the two, from his point of view, the most important successor states to the USSR are too different. Russian imperialism is opposed to Ukraine’s democracy.
New boost for the European idea?
But perhaps the most obvious shift since the start of the war has taken place in the European power structure. The voices of some Eastern European countries – such as Poland or the Baltic states – now have more weight. NATO has grown in the northeast. And: Ukraine and Moldova have decided on the European path and are negotiating with the EU about joining. “This offers a unique opportunity to give new impetus to the European idea,” says Snyder.
In the long term, the end of the Second World War is no longer sufficient as a basis for legitimacy. The integration of Ukraine after the end of the war could On the other hand, make the EU a real peace project again.
Legend: The war in Ukraine as the beginning of the end for imperial Russia? It would not be the first major power to break new ground after a fateful defeat. Keystone/AP/EFREM LUKATSKY
The war in Ukraine – as absurd as it sounds – also offers an opportunity for Russia – if the country loses the war. According to Snyder, history shows that empires like Russia only change through defeat in war: “Numerous European states lost imperial wars in the last century.” Germany in the Second World War, France in what was then Indochina and Algeria. These defeats led to a rethink and the formation of the EU.
Snyder is convinced that a defeat in the war could trigger similar developments in Russia. “But if Russia continues to win wars, there is no reason for the country to change,” the historian concludes.
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