Timothy Snyder

Historian

One of the clearest voices on Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Timothy Snyder, author of 15 books including the groundbreaking Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, has a deep understanding of Ukraine’s history. For centuries, he says, it has been bruised by the ambitions of neighbouring empires. The current war is an expression of Putin’s imperial mindset. But Snyder is not only a student of history; he is a shrewd analyst of how western leaders are responding to the present war too. Above all, he warns, European and North American leaders must not tell Ukraine how and when to make peace. Great powers have decided its fate for too long.