A feature of modern authoritarianism is to suppress the particularity of the nation, which is reduced to a generic, nostalgic construct meant to encourage repetitive obedience. The current Belarusian regime, supported by its imperial Russian neighbor, is an extreme example of this. But the history of the Belarusian nation is full of color, unpredictability, and potential. In considering the deeper Belarusian past, we will also be imagining possible futures.
Timothy Snyder is IWM Lesya Ukrainka Permanent Fellow. He holds the Chair of Modern European History at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. The renowned historian and public intellectual is the author and editor of over twenty books and the recipient of numerous prizes and honorary doctorates. His award-winning publications include Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), Thinking the Twentieth Century (with Tony Judt, 2012), Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning (2015), On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017), The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America (2018), and his recently published book On Freedom (2024).
The event will be moderated by Stephanie Fenkart, director of the International Institute for Peace (IIP).
The lecture will be followed by a Q&A and a book signing.
Please note that this event is already booked out. More information on the Wien Museum website.
