Timothy Snyder came to Kharkiv on September 8th, 2024, despite regular strikes on the city by Russian bombs, missiles, and drones. Our conversation was focused on freedom and values, which are the key topics of his latest book, "On Freedom", published on September 17th.

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/460254/on-freedom-by-snyder-timothy/9781847928054

Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city, located some 40 kilometers from the Russian border. The city is hit almost daily by Russian glide bombs, missiles, and drones, mostly hitting civilian buildings and causing casualties among civilians. Despite this, Kharkiv remains one of the key centers of Ukrainian cultural life.

Our conversation took place in an underground shelter, to ensure safety against possible Russian attacks. For safety reasons, the audience was carefully selected by invitation, without public announcements. Despite the dangers, about a hundred Kharkiv artists, writers, journalists, students, and university instructors came, with many of them contributing questions.

The cooperation of several organizations made this meeting happen: UkraineWorld (Internews Ukraine), the Kharkiv Literature Museum, Kharkiv Media Hub, PEN Ukraine, Art Area, and the Public Interest Journalism Lab.

The meeting was moderated by Volodymyr Yermolenko, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine.

Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

This is an English-only version of this conversation. Watch it in English AND Ukrainian here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A37SHxcCYS0

Ця версія розмови - англійською. Подивитися і послухати її англійською з УКРАЇНСЬКИМ перекладом можна тут: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A37SHxcCYS0

UkraineWorld is a multi-lingual media about Ukraine brought to you by Internews Ukraine.

Other conversations with Timothy Snyder by UkraineWorld:

Timothy Snyder: Freedom as a Value and a Task - a Talk in Kyiv

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LkXsW14qJQ&t=722s

Timothy Snyder: Ukraine, the War, and the Plurality of Values

https://youtu.be/BHksNrj7elQ?si=YhU-S4QbSsFrm7Pc

Timothy Snyder, Marci Shore, and Volodymyr Yermolenko at Yale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRRduBjkdxw&t=933s

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