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The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569 - 1999
Timothy Snyder traces the emergence of four rival modern nationalist ideologies from common medieval notions of citizenship. He presents the ideological innovations and ethnic cleansings that abetted the spread of modern nationalism but also examines recent statesmanship that has allowed national interests to be channeled toward peace.
“A work of profound scholarship and considerable importance.”—Timothy Garton Ash, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
“Timothy Snyder’s style is a welcome reminder that history writing can be—indeed, ought to be—a literary pursuit.”—Charles King, Times Literary Supplement
“A brilliant and fascinating analysis of the subtleties, complexities, and paradoxes of the evolution of nations in Eastern Europe. It has major implications for all of us who want to understand the processes of state collapse and nation-building in the world.”—Samuel P. Huntington, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies
“Snyder’s ultimate query in this fresh and stimulating look at the path to nationhood is how the bitter experiences along the way, including the bitterest—ethnic cleansing—are to be overcome.”—Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs
“A work of profound scholarship and considerable importance.”—Timothy Garton Ash, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
“Timothy Snyder’s style is a welcome reminder that history writing can be—indeed, ought to be—a literary pursuit.”—Charles King, Times Literary Supplement
“A brilliant and fascinating analysis of the subtleties, complexities, and paradoxes of the evolution of nations in Eastern Europe. It has major implications for all of us who want to understand the processes of state collapse and nation-building in the world.”—Samuel P. Huntington, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies
“Snyder’s ultimate query in this fresh and stimulating look at the path to nationhood is how the bitter experiences along the way, including the bitterest—ethnic cleansing—are to be overcome.”—Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs
367 pages, Paperback
First published January 11, 2003
About the author
Timothy Snyder
63 books3,969 followersTimothy Snyder is Housum Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences. He received his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1997, where he was a British Marshall Scholar. He has held fellowships in Paris, Vienna, and Warsaw, and an Academy Scholarship at Harvard.
His most recent book is Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, published in September 2015 by Crown Books. He is author also of Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), a history of Nazi and Soviet mass killing on the lands between Berlin and Moscow. A New York Times bestseller and a book of the year according to The Atlantic, The Independent, The Financial Times, the Telegraph, and the New Statesman, it has won twelve awards including the Emerson Prize in the Humanities, a Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Leipzig Award for European Understanding, and the Hannah Arendt Prize in Political Thought.
His other award-winning publications include Nationalism, Marxism, and Modern Central Europe: A Biography of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz (1998); The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999 (2003); Sketches from a Secret War: A Polish Artist's Mission to Liberate Soviet Ukraine (2005); The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of A Habsburg Archduke (2008), and Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010).
Snyder helped Tony Judt to compose a thematic history of political ideas and intellectuals in politics, Thinking the Twentieth Century (2012). He is also the co-editor of Stalin and Europe: Terror, War, Domination and Wall Around the West: State Power and Immigration Controls in Europe and North America (2001).
Snyder was the recipient of an inaugural Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2015. He is a member of the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and sits on the advisory council of the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research Research.
He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in modern East European political history.
His most recent book is Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, published in September 2015 by Crown Books. He is author also of Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), a history of Nazi and Soviet mass killing on the lands between Berlin and Moscow. A New York Times bestseller and a book of the year according to The Atlantic, The Independent, The Financial Times, the Telegraph, and the New Statesman, it has won twelve awards including the Emerson Prize in the Humanities, a Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Leipzig Award for European Understanding, and the Hannah Arendt Prize in Political Thought.
His other award-winning publications include Nationalism, Marxism, and Modern Central Europe: A Biography of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz (1998); The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999 (2003); Sketches from a Secret War: A Polish Artist's Mission to Liberate Soviet Ukraine (2005); The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of A Habsburg Archduke (2008), and Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010).
Snyder helped Tony Judt to compose a thematic history of political ideas and intellectuals in politics, Thinking the Twentieth Century (2012). He is also the co-editor of Stalin and Europe: Terror, War, Domination and Wall Around the West: State Power and Immigration Controls in Europe and North America (2001).
Snyder was the recipient of an inaugural Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2015. He is a member of the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and sits on the advisory council of the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research Research.
He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in modern East European political history.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
February 13, 2024
Masterfully researched and still highly relevant 20 years after publication.
Timothy Snyder provides the reader with a detailed chronological overview of the respective histories of the four states wich (mostly) made up the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus, from the founding of the Commonwealth until the beginning of the 21st century. As well as relevant points of view on the region from the Jewish, Russian and German sides.
The book is divided into three parts in which the first concentrates on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, its historical legacy in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus and the consequences which have arisen over it between the respective countries. The second part concentrates on the relation between Poland and (Western) Ukraine (Galicia and Volhynia) in which the rise of Ukrainian national consciousness plays a central role and the conflict this created with Poland, resulting in catastrophic mutual acts of ethnic cleansing. The third and final part concentrates on the future of the respective countries within Europe and the processes behind reconciliation amongst each other.
Essential reading for everyone interested in trying to understand the current state of Eastern Europe and where the region is heading.
Timothy Snyder provides the reader with a detailed chronological overview of the respective histories of the four states wich (mostly) made up the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus, from the founding of the Commonwealth until the beginning of the 21st century. As well as relevant points of view on the region from the Jewish, Russian and German sides.
The book is divided into three parts in which the first concentrates on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, its historical legacy in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus and the consequences which have arisen over it between the respective countries. The second part concentrates on the relation between Poland and (Western) Ukraine (Galicia and Volhynia) in which the rise of Ukrainian national consciousness plays a central role and the conflict this created with Poland, resulting in catastrophic mutual acts of ethnic cleansing. The third and final part concentrates on the future of the respective countries within Europe and the processes behind reconciliation amongst each other.
Essential reading for everyone interested in trying to understand the current state of Eastern Europe and where the region is heading.
August 29, 2017
The Maidan saga is still evolving, and it recently took an ugly pivot to the past, as has been documented in Foreign Policy journal and elsewhere. Shortly after the new Ukrainian government ascended to power, President Poroshenko appointed an amateur historian whose nationalist views have been the subject of ridicule by historians of Ukraine worldwide to the post of Director at the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance. The historian in question has a record of downplaying and denying the crimes against humanity carried out by the OUN and the UPA during the 1940s; now he controls the largest archive in Ukraine.
THIS is why reading Snyder's work in 2016 gives us pause. THIS is why history is important and valuable and why the purest evaluations of historical events are always unbiased and objective. There is a war in Ukraine going on as I write this review and a broader, nasty information war between the Russian and Ukrainian/western media that is warping our sense of the truth. At the same time, the generation of WWII veterans and survivors is fading away and the events that transpired are less tangible by the day.
What happened in Ukraine during the years of 1942-3? As Snyder writes, and despite what Ukrainian patriots riding the current nationalist wave might tell you, there were "about twelve thousand Ukrainian policemen (who) assisted about fourteen hundred German policemen in the murder of about two hundred thousand Volhynian Jews" in 1942 and that this was the formative experience for Ukrainians who would later join the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The next year, over 100,000 Poles living in Volyn and Halychyna were murdered by the Insurgent Army.
There is no way to dispute these facts, which have been documented by primary sources and collected by many historians, Snyder included. My point in this review is not to shame Ukraine or Ukrainians. God knows the Soviet government perpetrated crimes against its own citizens and others, including Ukrainians, on a larger scale with similar brutality. The point I want to make is that one cannot bend, twist, or simply erase events like the Holocaust or the Polish-Ukrainian civil war and ethnic cleansing that did in fact happen, no matter what anyone would have you believe. History is too often used to support nationalist movements, and Snyder's work does a service to breaking down nationalist myths, which is perhaps the most valuable contribution contained within this gem of readable, "accessible" history.
In addition to the bitter truth about Ukrainian nationalist movements, you will find a wonderfully woven timeline of places we consider nations today: Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland. Until the 20th century, the lines defining where "Poland" ended and "Ukraine" began were much blurrier; people didn't necessarily identify language as a mark of ethnicity until modern nationalism took root. Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, did not have a majority of Lithuanian speakers until 1945. All four nationalist movements in the book's title have claimed Adam Mickiewicz as a national poet at some point in history. According to Polish opinion polls taken in the late 1980s, Polish people were more fearful of aggression from an independent Ukraine than from any other country in Europe including the Soviet Union/Russia and a united, temporarily recidivist Germany. More fascinating facts are contained within the pages of this book.
This was the first book I've read by Snyder. What an unbelievable introduction to his work.
THIS is why reading Snyder's work in 2016 gives us pause. THIS is why history is important and valuable and why the purest evaluations of historical events are always unbiased and objective. There is a war in Ukraine going on as I write this review and a broader, nasty information war between the Russian and Ukrainian/western media that is warping our sense of the truth. At the same time, the generation of WWII veterans and survivors is fading away and the events that transpired are less tangible by the day.
What happened in Ukraine during the years of 1942-3? As Snyder writes, and despite what Ukrainian patriots riding the current nationalist wave might tell you, there were "about twelve thousand Ukrainian policemen (who) assisted about fourteen hundred German policemen in the murder of about two hundred thousand Volhynian Jews" in 1942 and that this was the formative experience for Ukrainians who would later join the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The next year, over 100,000 Poles living in Volyn and Halychyna were murdered by the Insurgent Army.
There is no way to dispute these facts, which have been documented by primary sources and collected by many historians, Snyder included. My point in this review is not to shame Ukraine or Ukrainians. God knows the Soviet government perpetrated crimes against its own citizens and others, including Ukrainians, on a larger scale with similar brutality. The point I want to make is that one cannot bend, twist, or simply erase events like the Holocaust or the Polish-Ukrainian civil war and ethnic cleansing that did in fact happen, no matter what anyone would have you believe. History is too often used to support nationalist movements, and Snyder's work does a service to breaking down nationalist myths, which is perhaps the most valuable contribution contained within this gem of readable, "accessible" history.
In addition to the bitter truth about Ukrainian nationalist movements, you will find a wonderfully woven timeline of places we consider nations today: Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland. Until the 20th century, the lines defining where "Poland" ended and "Ukraine" began were much blurrier; people didn't necessarily identify language as a mark of ethnicity until modern nationalism took root. Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, did not have a majority of Lithuanian speakers until 1945. All four nationalist movements in the book's title have claimed Adam Mickiewicz as a national poet at some point in history. According to Polish opinion polls taken in the late 1980s, Polish people were more fearful of aggression from an independent Ukraine than from any other country in Europe including the Soviet Union/Russia and a united, temporarily recidivist Germany. More fascinating facts are contained within the pages of this book.
This was the first book I've read by Snyder. What an unbelievable introduction to his work.
July 12, 2014
This is a riveting history of Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus, and how these “nations” fluctuated over historical time in terms of geography, language, culture, ethnicity...
Only after the extreme onslaught of the Second World War did these regions become more homogenous ethnically then they were in the past. Mr. Snyder goes into detail on the cleansing that these countries underwent from Hitler, Stalin and themselves. The German attack in Eastern Europe unleashed the ethnic hatreds that had built up over centuries; which is not to say that animosities never existed prior to 1939, far from it.
Mr. Snyder also describes how Poland’s emancipation from the Soviet Bloc was a positive influence on Eastern Europe, particularly the emerging countries from the former Soviet Union. Poland refused to open up the Pandora’s Box of history, and looking to the future, established good relations with its neighbors – Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus and the newly unified Germany. As the author mentions a “Yugoslavia” of ethnic geographical confrontations could have erupted (as in the past) with the contested lands that had at one time belonged to either Poland, Lithuania, the Ukraine and other countries.
I did find this book opaque when reading about history prior to the Twentieth Century (this constitutes about one-fifth of the book). The author presumes a familiarity with historical events that I did not have. Little is mentioned about the Eastern Ukraine and Stalin’s horrible devastation of it during the 1930’s. Ruthenia is mentioned but not explained. Same for the Uniate Church.
But we do get an excellent flow of these countries in the Twentieth Century and their long and troubled road to nationhood. We are given the varying, and often conflicting, historical interpretations of these different nationalities. For a group of people history is never objective.
Only after the extreme onslaught of the Second World War did these regions become more homogenous ethnically then they were in the past. Mr. Snyder goes into detail on the cleansing that these countries underwent from Hitler, Stalin and themselves. The German attack in Eastern Europe unleashed the ethnic hatreds that had built up over centuries; which is not to say that animosities never existed prior to 1939, far from it.
Mr. Snyder also describes how Poland’s emancipation from the Soviet Bloc was a positive influence on Eastern Europe, particularly the emerging countries from the former Soviet Union. Poland refused to open up the Pandora’s Box of history, and looking to the future, established good relations with its neighbors – Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus and the newly unified Germany. As the author mentions a “Yugoslavia” of ethnic geographical confrontations could have erupted (as in the past) with the contested lands that had at one time belonged to either Poland, Lithuania, the Ukraine and other countries.
I did find this book opaque when reading about history prior to the Twentieth Century (this constitutes about one-fifth of the book). The author presumes a familiarity with historical events that I did not have. Little is mentioned about the Eastern Ukraine and Stalin’s horrible devastation of it during the 1930’s. Ruthenia is mentioned but not explained. Same for the Uniate Church.
But we do get an excellent flow of these countries in the Twentieth Century and their long and troubled road to nationhood. We are given the varying, and often conflicting, historical interpretations of these different nationalities. For a group of people history is never objective.
December 14, 2020
Snyder gives a fascinating exploration of Eastern Europe's shifting experiments with inter-ethnic relations, varying from grand coalitions of political unity, to ferocious ethnic cleansing, to civil cooperation between basically ethnic states. I was particularly impressed with the constructive maturity displayed by Poland's leaders following the collapse of the Soviet Block system. Their efforts enabled the healing and forgiveness that averted upsurges of ethnic violence as seen in the former Yugoslavia.
December 28, 2020
Definitely a must read for anyone who's interested in history, particularly Eastern European history.
The author explains the origins of Polish, Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian national identities, how they evolved during the course of events, including the three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, conflicts that took place during the interwar period and both world wars, as well as during and after the Communist era. As Lithuanian, I found it exciting and valuable that the book challenged many of my own perceptions. Moreover, the content is heavily intertwined with some of the pressing questions in regional diplomatic relations that arise even today (e.g. the dispute over Vilnius) -- that makes it even better.
I found the Lithuanian translation (2008 edition) to be really clumsy; therefore, I highly advise to read it in original language. Nevertheless, the content is invaluable - a must for anyone who's from (or interested in understanding the complexities of) the region.
The author explains the origins of Polish, Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian national identities, how they evolved during the course of events, including the three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, conflicts that took place during the interwar period and both world wars, as well as during and after the Communist era. As Lithuanian, I found it exciting and valuable that the book challenged many of my own perceptions. Moreover, the content is heavily intertwined with some of the pressing questions in regional diplomatic relations that arise even today (e.g. the dispute over Vilnius) -- that makes it even better.
I found the Lithuanian translation (2008 edition) to be really clumsy; therefore, I highly advise to read it in original language. Nevertheless, the content is invaluable - a must for anyone who's from (or interested in understanding the complexities of) the region.
September 9, 2016
My "to read" shelves are prioritised; "these can wait" and "these must be read soon". There are books that languish there, on the shelves, if not covered in cobwebs (my wife would never allow that ignominy) then certainly enshrouded in an invisible thick web of time. It is my shame that this book languished on my shelves for so long. It has sat there, in the "these must be read soon", for a number of years. It has sent out signals that "there things here of great worth" but I have constantly glanced, momentarily paused and then moved on to another. Shame on me.
This is a superb book, a work of true scholarship. It explains the roots of so many problems and provides so many answers in a part of the world I love well. It is a work of real significance in the understanding of the history of the former lands of the Rzeszpospolita, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It clarifies the evolution of political ideas in Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and the Ukraine and explains the history of enmity that developed between these once united "nations". It begins by describing the dominant role of Poland in the relationship, the roles of language and religion, of culture. It exposes the flaws, especially in the Rzeszpospolita's relationship with the Ukraine, which ultimately contributed to the disappearance of this great, "modern" state. It tracks the growth of nationalism and the conflict of interest between those who believed in an ethnic nation state and those who believed in a federation that had its roots in the Commonwealth. We see the rise of suspicion, fear and hatred; the emergence of war and ethnic cleansing in times of chaos, and we see the way the Poles evolved a means of overcoming these stumbling blocks in order to create a successful transition in the movement towards the creation of independent states in this part of Europe.
This is a magnificent book, a great history and a superb commentary. It is so well-written and easy to read; there are very few points at which I had to pause and re-read a part in order to take it in. Timothy Snyder had already attracted my attention in his marvellous work "Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin", now he has been raised to the Pantheon of the greats.
This is a superb book, a work of true scholarship. It explains the roots of so many problems and provides so many answers in a part of the world I love well. It is a work of real significance in the understanding of the history of the former lands of the Rzeszpospolita, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It clarifies the evolution of political ideas in Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and the Ukraine and explains the history of enmity that developed between these once united "nations". It begins by describing the dominant role of Poland in the relationship, the roles of language and religion, of culture. It exposes the flaws, especially in the Rzeszpospolita's relationship with the Ukraine, which ultimately contributed to the disappearance of this great, "modern" state. It tracks the growth of nationalism and the conflict of interest between those who believed in an ethnic nation state and those who believed in a federation that had its roots in the Commonwealth. We see the rise of suspicion, fear and hatred; the emergence of war and ethnic cleansing in times of chaos, and we see the way the Poles evolved a means of overcoming these stumbling blocks in order to create a successful transition in the movement towards the creation of independent states in this part of Europe.
This is a magnificent book, a great history and a superb commentary. It is so well-written and easy to read; there are very few points at which I had to pause and re-read a part in order to take it in. Timothy Snyder had already attracted my attention in his marvellous work "Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin", now he has been raised to the Pantheon of the greats.
January 11, 2018
Ця книжка раптово актуалізувалась завдяки сучасному популістичному польсько-українському дискурсу, тому найцікавіше мені було читати саме на розвиток відносин Києва та Варшави. Хоча тут багато всього корисного і про нещасних білорусів, які, на думку Снайдера, так і не сформувалися у національну державу через те, що сучасну територію країни не гризли різні Імперії, як от гризли Литву чи Україну.
Найкраще читається про хитромудру польську політику "двох напрямків", коли офіційні переговори поляки проводили і з радянською Москвою, і з радянським Києвом (ви ж все одно колись станете незалежною державою, ми знаєм, ми читали цей сценарій, так давайте вже домовлятись). Будівництво двосторонніх відносин між державами безвідносно історичного багажу, яке багато хто назвав би антинаціональним, але - вважали поляки і вважає Снайдер - поки ми вирішуємо, хто більше вбив триста років тому, ми ризикуємо залишитись безКриму кордонів. Іронічно-гіркі оптимістичні глави про те, як поляки та українці дипломатично закрили книжку обопільних образ і тепер мають найміцнішу дружбу на всьому східно-європейському просторі. З іншого боку, весело читати перестороги Снайдера про те, що східний кордо ЄС буде закритий для України в осяжному майбутньому, що може стати величезною проблемою для Євросоюзу. Ніхто ніколи не може передбачити майбутнє лише тому, що для нього недосяжний інструментарій майбутнього.
Найкраще читається про хитромудру польську політику "двох напрямків", коли офіційні переговори поляки проводили і з радянською Москвою, і з радянським Києвом (ви ж все одно колись станете незалежною державою, ми знаєм, ми читали цей сценарій, так давайте вже домовлятись). Будівництво двосторонніх відносин між державами безвідносно історичного багажу, яке багато хто назвав би антинаціональним, але - вважали поляки і вважає Снайдер - поки ми вирішуємо, хто більше вбив триста років тому, ми ризикуємо залишитись без
May 8, 2017
Існування окремих української, білоруської, польської та литовської націй зараз майже ні в кого не викликає сумніву, окрім деяких імперіалістів та радикальних націоналістів. Але розуміння стосунку чотирьох націй до Речі Посполитої далі є проблематичним. Чи була ця ранньомодерна держава польською чи польсько-литовською, адже в її назві фігурувало Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodow? А якщо так, то чи вона була імперією щодо українців та білорусів? Хоча, чи можемо ми взагалі говорити про те, що Річ Посполита була національною державою? Книга Тімоті Снайдера "Перетворення націй. Польща, Україна, Литва, Білорусь 1569-1999" (Дух і літера, 2012) є текстом, який пропонує відповіді на ці питання. Книжка була видана на Заході в 2003 р., але до українського читача прийшла лише в 2012 р. І тим не менше, на мою думку, вона краща, аніж бестселер Тімоті Снайдера "Криваві землі" (Грані-Т, 2011).
Продовження рецензії - Як одна нація стала чотирма: виникнення польської, литовської, української та білоруської ідентичностей
Продовження рецензії - Як одна нація стала чотирма: виникнення польської, литовської, української та білоруської ідентичностей
March 16, 2010
Lesson learned from this book: If you were "Ukrainian," "Polish," or "Belorussian," most of the 20th-century sucked for you. Also, trust no one!
September 1, 2022
Jesli Europa jest nimfa -- Neapol
Jest nimfy okiem blekitnem
Sercim – cierniami w nodze: Sewatopol,
Azow, Odessa, Petersburg, Mitawa –
Paryz jej glowna
Nakrochmalonym – a zas Rzym … szlaplerzem
Juliusz Slowacki wrote the above in 1836. Norman Davies cites these words in “Heart of Europe” and offers this translation: “If Europe is a nymph, then Naples is the nymph’s bright blue eyes – Warsaw is her heart, whilst Sevastopol, Azov, Odessa, Petersburg, and Mitau are the sharp points of her feet. Paris is her head – London her starched collar – and Rome her boney shoulder.”
Tim Snyder’s book is the best book I’ve read about the “Heart” of Europe in 25 years. He does an absolutely remarkable job of using history, literature, poetry, myth, religion, politics and more to carefully lead us from the Lublin Union of 1569 to the present (which was 2003 when this book was published in 2004). Poland is at the heart of this book and deservedly so since it is the Poles who were able to break and set aside, particularly the years 1939 through 1947, the bonds of their tortured history to lead their nation into the 21st century and “re-union” with Europe. In the process they led the Baltic nations, most especially Lithuania, to do the same.
Timothy Snyder has spent considerable time in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine. This book reads and flows extremely well and it is clear those years of study and experience in these countries led to the book’s conceptualization. At the outset he lets us understand his approach: "To argue with meta history risks accepting its rules of engagement: and nonsense turned on its head remains nonsense.... Dialectics of myth and meta history sharpen the minds of nationalists, and are thus properly a subject rather than a method of national history."
In other words, he very carefully reconstructs not only what happened but gives us insight – to the extent possible -- into what happened. In the process, he is extremely even handed resisting the opportunities to come down disposed to one side or the other.
He is very strong when he speaks of myth and in particular the efforts of one nation to attempt to adopt someone else’s national poet into another culture as both Lithuania and Belarus did with the great poet Adam Mickiewicz’s Polish literary epic, “Pan Tadeusz.” He comes down hard on Belarus: “In a society still overwhelmingly concerned with status, translating folk culture into a literary language is one thing; translating literary masterpieces into the speech of peasants is quite another. The cultured may be charmed when someone brings a muddy pearl back from the sty, but it does not follow that they like seeing their own pearls thrown before swine.” He is referring to the attempt to translate Mickiewicz’s epic into Belarusian which was barely a codified language in the mid-1800s. There were points where I wondered if Tim Snyder isn't more of a literature professor than history professor, but I reminded myself that literature and art are windows on history. Tim Snyder uses these windows superbly.
One of the saddest parts of the book concerns the very tortured history of Lithuania in World War II and just after. Will let Snyder’s words provide a sample:
"Einsatzkommando 9 of the German Reich arrived in Vilnius on 2 July 1941. Having incorporated thousands of Lithuanian volunteers into its ranks, it began to eliminate Vilnius's Jews. In July and August 1941, hundreds of Jews were abducted by German and Lithuanian Einsatzkommando soldiers. These Jews were murdered by Germans and Lithuanians in the sand pits of the Paneriai (Ponary) forest. Much of the actual killing at Paneriai was carried out by Lithuanian volunteers known as the Special Platoon (Ypatingas Burys). In September 1941 3,700 Jews were rounded up and shot in the sand pits. On 6 September, 38,000 Jews were crammed into two small ghettos; another 6,000 or so were taken to the sand pits and shot. In October and November 1941, in seven actions, more than 12,000 Jews were taken from the two ghettos to the sand pits and shot ….”
It was worse in the Ukraine. I suspect that what happened in the Ukraine was perhaps the most brutal chapter of World War II with the possible exception of the Rape of Nanking.
I’ve already recounted enough of this book to give you the flavor. I would only add that if you want to have anything like an understanding of what is happening in Eastern Europe today, particularly Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine you need to read this book. It is the most even handed treatment of the area that I have read. You will also gain an understanding of why the Poles and Lithuanians have become part of the European Union while Belarus and the Ukraine have not.
I spent three years in Poland from 1990 to 1993. Why Poland was able to avoid being a victim of her history while the Ukraine has not is very well spelled out. As a final note, I am privileged to have worked for a great diplomat and ambassador, Thomas W. Simons. Tom saw Tim Snyder’s book through from the beginning. I can think of one or two people I admire as much as Tom Simons, but no one I admire more. And, finally, I am very much prejudiced toward the Poles. How could I not be? I have a “brother” and a “sister” there. We are not related by blood, but our hearts beat in rhythm.
Jest nimfy okiem blekitnem
Sercim – cierniami w nodze: Sewatopol,
Azow, Odessa, Petersburg, Mitawa –
Paryz jej glowna
Nakrochmalonym – a zas Rzym … szlaplerzem
Juliusz Slowacki wrote the above in 1836. Norman Davies cites these words in “Heart of Europe” and offers this translation: “If Europe is a nymph, then Naples is the nymph’s bright blue eyes – Warsaw is her heart, whilst Sevastopol, Azov, Odessa, Petersburg, and Mitau are the sharp points of her feet. Paris is her head – London her starched collar – and Rome her boney shoulder.”
Tim Snyder’s book is the best book I’ve read about the “Heart” of Europe in 25 years. He does an absolutely remarkable job of using history, literature, poetry, myth, religion, politics and more to carefully lead us from the Lublin Union of 1569 to the present (which was 2003 when this book was published in 2004). Poland is at the heart of this book and deservedly so since it is the Poles who were able to break and set aside, particularly the years 1939 through 1947, the bonds of their tortured history to lead their nation into the 21st century and “re-union” with Europe. In the process they led the Baltic nations, most especially Lithuania, to do the same.
Timothy Snyder has spent considerable time in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine. This book reads and flows extremely well and it is clear those years of study and experience in these countries led to the book’s conceptualization. At the outset he lets us understand his approach: "To argue with meta history risks accepting its rules of engagement: and nonsense turned on its head remains nonsense.... Dialectics of myth and meta history sharpen the minds of nationalists, and are thus properly a subject rather than a method of national history."
In other words, he very carefully reconstructs not only what happened but gives us insight – to the extent possible -- into what happened. In the process, he is extremely even handed resisting the opportunities to come down disposed to one side or the other.
He is very strong when he speaks of myth and in particular the efforts of one nation to attempt to adopt someone else’s national poet into another culture as both Lithuania and Belarus did with the great poet Adam Mickiewicz’s Polish literary epic, “Pan Tadeusz.” He comes down hard on Belarus: “In a society still overwhelmingly concerned with status, translating folk culture into a literary language is one thing; translating literary masterpieces into the speech of peasants is quite another. The cultured may be charmed when someone brings a muddy pearl back from the sty, but it does not follow that they like seeing their own pearls thrown before swine.” He is referring to the attempt to translate Mickiewicz’s epic into Belarusian which was barely a codified language in the mid-1800s. There were points where I wondered if Tim Snyder isn't more of a literature professor than history professor, but I reminded myself that literature and art are windows on history. Tim Snyder uses these windows superbly.
One of the saddest parts of the book concerns the very tortured history of Lithuania in World War II and just after. Will let Snyder’s words provide a sample:
"Einsatzkommando 9 of the German Reich arrived in Vilnius on 2 July 1941. Having incorporated thousands of Lithuanian volunteers into its ranks, it began to eliminate Vilnius's Jews. In July and August 1941, hundreds of Jews were abducted by German and Lithuanian Einsatzkommando soldiers. These Jews were murdered by Germans and Lithuanians in the sand pits of the Paneriai (Ponary) forest. Much of the actual killing at Paneriai was carried out by Lithuanian volunteers known as the Special Platoon (Ypatingas Burys). In September 1941 3,700 Jews were rounded up and shot in the sand pits. On 6 September, 38,000 Jews were crammed into two small ghettos; another 6,000 or so were taken to the sand pits and shot. In October and November 1941, in seven actions, more than 12,000 Jews were taken from the two ghettos to the sand pits and shot ….”
It was worse in the Ukraine. I suspect that what happened in the Ukraine was perhaps the most brutal chapter of World War II with the possible exception of the Rape of Nanking.
I’ve already recounted enough of this book to give you the flavor. I would only add that if you want to have anything like an understanding of what is happening in Eastern Europe today, particularly Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine you need to read this book. It is the most even handed treatment of the area that I have read. You will also gain an understanding of why the Poles and Lithuanians have become part of the European Union while Belarus and the Ukraine have not.
I spent three years in Poland from 1990 to 1993. Why Poland was able to avoid being a victim of her history while the Ukraine has not is very well spelled out. As a final note, I am privileged to have worked for a great diplomat and ambassador, Thomas W. Simons. Tom saw Tim Snyder’s book through from the beginning. I can think of one or two people I admire as much as Tom Simons, but no one I admire more. And, finally, I am very much prejudiced toward the Poles. How could I not be? I have a “brother” and a “sister” there. We are not related by blood, but our hearts beat in rhythm.
August 16, 2011
The nation, as a thing, has become such a taken for granted of contemporary culture and politics - in its various forms of the nation-state, of the nation as ethnic group, of the nation as self-determining - that it is sometimes difficult to remember that it is the product of historical, social, political and cultural choices, changes and developments. There are few places on the 'Old World' where this is as obviously the case as east and central Europe, that area fought over, claimed and traversed by the Habsburgs, the Romanovs, and the various groups and dynasties that became modern Germany, and this book healthy remainder that we can't really get a grasp on European history without engaging with east-central Europe: a top quality exploration of the difficult thing that was the Polish-Lithuanian empire.
The Polish-Lithuanian empire is one of Europe's lost states - a sprawling multi-ethnic confederation extending from Estonia in the north almost to the Black Sea in the south, from just east of modern Berlin in the west to half way between Minsk & Moscow in the east: it was a huge, powerful social and political force during the 16th and 17th centuries, the history of which has profoundly shaped east European politics ever since. Snyder's history, however, is not one of the Empire, its growth and collapse but in many ways of what happened next, of the demise of the Empire and the emergence of modern nations - Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine & Poland: Latvia and Estonia barely rate a mention. But then the powerful parts of the tale lie in the complex area that is the Lithuanian, Polish, Belrussian and Ukranian border areas, which Snyder reveals by exploring in detail the area once known as Volhynia, and area of Germanic and Slavic language groups, of Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox and other religious meeting and tension, and an area of continuing cross border cultural exchange that challenges the 'uniformity' of both Polishness and Belrussianess.
My principal concern is not with this Volhynian focus - it is an excellent way to explore the topic - but with Snyder's inability (depressingly common in post-Fukuyama studies) to distinguish the causes and effects of changes and politics during the Soviet and Nazi eras in places such as Volhynia with the effect that he comes close to equating Nazi era genocide with post-war Soviet era policies. I am not trying to deny the effects of mass post-war population transmigrations, of seeing them as actions that developed into what we now call 'ethnic cleansing' - an awful term, but they were not anywhere near genocide and their respective totalitarianisms were nt in any way the same thing.
This weakness in the book (and some of Snyder's other work) is disappointing, because the book is in most other respects and theoretically and empirically rich exploration of an important (not only because forgotten) aspect of European history. It is, as far as I am concerned, vital for scholars of nations and nationalism - but be careful of the failures to adequately disaggregate the political forms of the mid 20th century.
The Polish-Lithuanian empire is one of Europe's lost states - a sprawling multi-ethnic confederation extending from Estonia in the north almost to the Black Sea in the south, from just east of modern Berlin in the west to half way between Minsk & Moscow in the east: it was a huge, powerful social and political force during the 16th and 17th centuries, the history of which has profoundly shaped east European politics ever since. Snyder's history, however, is not one of the Empire, its growth and collapse but in many ways of what happened next, of the demise of the Empire and the emergence of modern nations - Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine & Poland: Latvia and Estonia barely rate a mention. But then the powerful parts of the tale lie in the complex area that is the Lithuanian, Polish, Belrussian and Ukranian border areas, which Snyder reveals by exploring in detail the area once known as Volhynia, and area of Germanic and Slavic language groups, of Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox and other religious meeting and tension, and an area of continuing cross border cultural exchange that challenges the 'uniformity' of both Polishness and Belrussianess.
My principal concern is not with this Volhynian focus - it is an excellent way to explore the topic - but with Snyder's inability (depressingly common in post-Fukuyama studies) to distinguish the causes and effects of changes and politics during the Soviet and Nazi eras in places such as Volhynia with the effect that he comes close to equating Nazi era genocide with post-war Soviet era policies. I am not trying to deny the effects of mass post-war population transmigrations, of seeing them as actions that developed into what we now call 'ethnic cleansing' - an awful term, but they were not anywhere near genocide and their respective totalitarianisms were nt in any way the same thing.
This weakness in the book (and some of Snyder's other work) is disappointing, because the book is in most other respects and theoretically and empirically rich exploration of an important (not only because forgotten) aspect of European history. It is, as far as I am concerned, vital for scholars of nations and nationalism - but be careful of the failures to adequately disaggregate the political forms of the mid 20th century.
April 22, 2022
4+
I thought that I knew history of Lithuania and Ukraine, but Snyder proved otherwise. With Ukraine this book provided "only" major corrections to my knowledge, but with Lithuania everything that I knew about its history in 16th-19th century proved to be an illusion, a myth having almost nothing in common with reality. Also, the book is very informative in Poland's eastern policy in 1990-2000 and gives a satisfactory answer to the question why Lithuania and Ukraine managed to create more or less successful independent state, and Belarus, which shared with them a great chunk of history, failed to do it. It would be 5 stars if not for the habit of Snyder to repeat his main talking points over and over and over again and for way too many pages containing his general musings instead of historical facts that can talk for themselves.
I thought that I knew history of Lithuania and Ukraine, but Snyder proved otherwise. With Ukraine this book provided "only" major corrections to my knowledge, but with Lithuania everything that I knew about its history in 16th-19th century proved to be an illusion, a myth having almost nothing in common with reality. Also, the book is very informative in Poland's eastern policy in 1990-2000 and gives a satisfactory answer to the question why Lithuania and Ukraine managed to create more or less successful independent state, and Belarus, which shared with them a great chunk of history, failed to do it. It would be 5 stars if not for the habit of Snyder to repeat his main talking points over and over and over again and for way too many pages containing his general musings instead of historical facts that can talk for themselves.
July 24, 2022
Suprantu, kodel šio Snyder’io vertimo taip niekas ir nebeperleido.
Esame pratę skaityti tik mitologizuotą, savo pačių istorijos versiją. O jei mito nerandam - istoriką apšaukiam marginalu.
Šiuo atveju Snyder’iui nereikia įrodynėt autoriteto. Regiono istoriją jis išmano puikiai. Ir arbitruoja taip, kad daugumai net kraujas užverda.
Esame pratę skaityti tik mitologizuotą, savo pačių istorijos versiją. O jei mito nerandam - istoriką apšaukiam marginalu.
Šiuo atveju Snyder’iui nereikia įrodynėt autoriteto. Regiono istoriją jis išmano puikiai. Ir arbitruoja taip, kad daugumai net kraujas užverda.
February 11, 2022
4,75 - it's not that easy to read sometimes.
October 13, 2016
Тімоті Снайдер для мене є абсолютним зразком західного наукового підходу та академічного письма. Він будує свої аргументи довго, розгорнуто та цікаво. В решті-решт всі шматки сходяться.
Опис складного часу для Галичини 1939-1945 рр, коли вона пережила 3 окупації та тисячі-тисячі насильницьких смертей, повністю змінив моє певне ідеалістичне уявлення про українську сторону в конфлікті. Книга знищила багато моїх чисто галичанських псевдо-патріотичних стереотипів, які зв"язували мої скромні знання своєї історії.
Приємним бонусом, стало усвідомлення, що я прожив більшість свого життя (в місті Червонограді на Львівщині, де я народився та виріс) у квартирі з вікнами, через які було видно післявоєнний кордон (1944 року) між СРСР та ПНР - річку Західний Буг, яка в ті часи очевидно особливо охоронялася. Взагалі книга дала багато усвідомлень, тому всім рекомендую.
Опис складного часу для Галичини 1939-1945 рр, коли вона пережила 3 окупації та тисячі-тисячі насильницьких смертей, повністю змінив моє певне ідеалістичне уявлення про українську сторону в конфлікті. Книга знищила багато моїх чисто галичанських псевдо-патріотичних стереотипів, які зв"язували мої скромні знання своєї історії.
Приємним бонусом, стало усвідомлення, що я прожив більшість свого життя (в місті Червонограді на Львівщині, де я народився та виріс) у квартирі з вікнами, через які було видно післявоєнний кордон (1944 року) між СРСР та ПНР - річку Західний Буг, яка в ті часи очевидно особливо охоронялася. Взагалі книга дала багато усвідомлень, тому всім рекомендую.
August 15, 2010
An excellent book. Insightful, subtle, clear. I learned an enormous amount about the history and politics of Eastern Europe as well as the evolution of nationalism and state formation. I read it slowly and got much out of it. The proofreader did not.
March 3, 2022
Very important to read if you want to know why Putin's claims are complete and utter hogwash. It was written in 2003, so there are now some darkly amusing assumptions, but it is an excellent grounding on the topic. Could do for an update.
July 17, 2022
Книга відноситься до тих, що змінюють світогляд. Я багато дізнався нового про історію України, Польщі, Литви та Білорусії, такого, що не розповідають у школі.
October 3, 2022
Title is misleading. This focuses solely on Poland and how Poland bullied and controlled the nations around it.
August 21, 2023
In The Reconstruction of Nations, Timothy Snyder traces the evolution of modern nations from their origins as national ideas. Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University, leverages an exhaustive array of multilinguistic, primary-source archival materials to produce a magnificent narrative history of Eastern Europe from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the end of the twentieth century. Snyder reveals how the demise of the Commonwealth seeded many different claims to its land and, soon thereafter, the fundaments of nationhood. This process of demise and recreation was often tortuous and violent, marked by episodes of civil strife and ethnic cleansing. Yet Snyder not only shows why these abrasions developed; more importantly, he reveals how states have strived to pave over these historical resentments and to make peace.
Snyder traces the modern “reconstruction” of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus beginning with the end of World War I and the collapse of the Russian empire. He reveals the destruction and brutal social dislocation inflicted by the warring sides in the Second World War, which led to deportations, ethnic cleansing, and new nations predicated on “ethnic” borders. These new nations often found their assigned borders did not reflect territories that accommodated their claims of national inheritance. For example, Poland was forced to surrender its claims to Vilnius, Galicia, and Volhynia to the newly formed Lithuanian and Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republics, despite its previous occupation of those territories and many Polish inhabitants. This geographic realignment was especially marked by ethnic violence, including several decades of conflict between the Polish and Ukrainian nationalists in what is modern-day Western Ukraine.
At the denouement of this reconstructive process, Snyder shows how these nations achieved peaceful reconciliation with their pasts. Poland, marred by internecine conflict with Ukrainian nationalists and Soviet invaders, was forced to give up nearly half of its prewar territory. Yet, its resurrection in the postwar era as a modern state was enabled by its revocation of long simmering historical territorial claims, acceptance of its eastern borders, and coequal partnership with its regional neighbors. “The consolidation of such attitudes was tantamount to the success of a particular variety of modern Polish nationality,” Snyder acknowledges, “concerned not with extending Polish power, spreading Polish culture, or restoring Polish statehood, but with preserving a Polish nation-state within its present frontiers.” Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania – each a claimant to the inheritance of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – had also made peace with their historical grievances and entered a new era of European integration, and (for most of these nations) collective preservation against a looming Russian threat. The “ideal of nations” had now reigned supreme, characterized by legal precepts, political rights, territorial integrity, and shared codes of conduct. The modern nation state, as Snyder shows, is one that can make peace with its past and work towards a more peaceful and productive future.
Snyder traces the modern “reconstruction” of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus beginning with the end of World War I and the collapse of the Russian empire. He reveals the destruction and brutal social dislocation inflicted by the warring sides in the Second World War, which led to deportations, ethnic cleansing, and new nations predicated on “ethnic” borders. These new nations often found their assigned borders did not reflect territories that accommodated their claims of national inheritance. For example, Poland was forced to surrender its claims to Vilnius, Galicia, and Volhynia to the newly formed Lithuanian and Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republics, despite its previous occupation of those territories and many Polish inhabitants. This geographic realignment was especially marked by ethnic violence, including several decades of conflict between the Polish and Ukrainian nationalists in what is modern-day Western Ukraine.
At the denouement of this reconstructive process, Snyder shows how these nations achieved peaceful reconciliation with their pasts. Poland, marred by internecine conflict with Ukrainian nationalists and Soviet invaders, was forced to give up nearly half of its prewar territory. Yet, its resurrection in the postwar era as a modern state was enabled by its revocation of long simmering historical territorial claims, acceptance of its eastern borders, and coequal partnership with its regional neighbors. “The consolidation of such attitudes was tantamount to the success of a particular variety of modern Polish nationality,” Snyder acknowledges, “concerned not with extending Polish power, spreading Polish culture, or restoring Polish statehood, but with preserving a Polish nation-state within its present frontiers.” Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania – each a claimant to the inheritance of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – had also made peace with their historical grievances and entered a new era of European integration, and (for most of these nations) collective preservation against a looming Russian threat. The “ideal of nations” had now reigned supreme, characterized by legal precepts, political rights, territorial integrity, and shared codes of conduct. The modern nation state, as Snyder shows, is one that can make peace with its past and work towards a more peaceful and productive future.
July 13, 2024
Якщо ви цікавитесь історією чи міжнародними відносинами, дуже раджу. Але для цієї книги треба мати гарну базу з історії України.
Снайдер бере дуже цікаво тему Річ Посполита та її наслідки. У нас я подібних праць не зустрічав (можливо вони є).
Корисно прочитати тим, хто мріє про "відродження" міжморського союзу. Тімоті каже ніт.
З одного боку, я розумію чому її переклали і видали в нас. Тут багато про важливість польсько-українського порозуміння, а його від часів пісівської влади майже немає.
З іншого, все ж Снайдер подає все більше з польської точки зору (і не тільки щодо України).
Доречі послідовність країн у назві книги не випадкова. Саме так Снайдер їх ранжує.
Цікаво що Снайдер визнає, що країни сусіди можуть мати прямо протилежні національні історії, але це не повинно заважати міждержавним стосункам.
Залиште історію історикам.
Ні полякам, ні нам це поки не вдається.
Цікаво було про Вільно/Вільнюс, бо мені це перегукувалось з Києвом.
Багато про євроінтеграцію Польщі (бо книга написана ДО вступу Польщі до ЄС). І в дечому книга виглядала такою собі допомогою аргументом для прийому нових членів. Думаю сьогодні він би скоригував свої прогнози щодо вступу України (бо він це бачив не раніше 2040).
Ну і про Білорусь. Снайдер не бачить у найближчі десятиліття модерної білоруської нації і білоруського націоналістичного проєкту.
Снайдер бере дуже цікаво тему Річ Посполита та її наслідки. У нас я подібних праць не зустрічав (можливо вони є).
Корисно прочитати тим, хто мріє про "відродження" міжморського союзу. Тімоті каже ніт.
З одного боку, я розумію чому її переклали і видали в нас. Тут багато про важливість польсько-українського порозуміння, а його від часів пісівської влади майже немає.
З іншого, все ж Снайдер подає все більше з польської точки зору (і не тільки щодо України).
Доречі послідовність країн у назві книги не випадкова. Саме так Снайдер їх ранжує.
Цікаво що Снайдер визнає, що країни сусіди можуть мати прямо протилежні національні історії, але це не повинно заважати міждержавним стосункам.
Залиште історію історикам.
Ні полякам, ні нам це поки не вдається.
Цікаво було про Вільно/Вільнюс, бо мені це перегукувалось з Києвом.
Багато про євроінтеграцію Польщі (бо книга написана ДО вступу Польщі до ЄС). І в дечому книга виглядала такою собі допомогою аргументом для прийому нових членів. Думаю сьогодні він би скоригував свої прогнози щодо вступу України (бо він це бачив не раніше 2040).
Ну і про Білорусь. Снайдер не бачить у найближчі десятиліття модерної білоруської нації і білоруського націоналістичного проєкту.
November 17, 2023
Great fan of Snyder; this was pretty specialist history, but worth the listen; be sure to check out his brilliant work on WWII, the holocaust, tyranny and the Russo-Ukrainian war:
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
On Tyranny and On Ukraine: Lessons from Russia's War on Ukraine
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
On Tyranny and On Ukraine: Lessons from Russia's War on Ukraine
March 2, 2024
Fascinating to see the national history that I have learned from a somewhat different, broader perspective. Especially the first five chapters on Lithuania were completely immersive (for a Lithuanian).
It did challenge some preconceived notions on my own understanding of national history and introduced a lot of new context on the neighbouring countries. For example, to consider that despite the tragic losses due to Soviet occupation, there was a silver lining for Lithuania regaining and keeping its capital. Thought provoking to learn about the strategic Polish foreign policy during the tumultuous period of 1989-1991.
Finally, reading this book in the time of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is particularly chilling. Especially as the book provides so many historical examples of atrocities committed over the past centuries due to very similar ideas of revanchism, revisionist history and pretext of ethnic minorities.
It did challenge some preconceived notions on my own understanding of national history and introduced a lot of new context on the neighbouring countries. For example, to consider that despite the tragic losses due to Soviet occupation, there was a silver lining for Lithuania regaining and keeping its capital. Thought provoking to learn about the strategic Polish foreign policy during the tumultuous period of 1989-1991.
Finally, reading this book in the time of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is particularly chilling. Especially as the book provides so many historical examples of atrocities committed over the past centuries due to very similar ideas of revanchism, revisionist history and pretext of ethnic minorities.
July 4, 2019
Labai patiko. Įdomus požiūris į mūsu istorija iš šalies. Reabilitavo požiūrį į dabartinę lenku politika, patikėjau, kad šiuo metu nelips į kitas teritorijas.
June 29, 2023
Interesting.
November 17, 2023
Not my favorite Snyder book, but still excellent writing and scholarship. This one was just a bit too academic for me… or the thesis wasn’t clear enough, which made the rest of the book interesting history but not outstanding synthesis/interpretation. Still, I started it in America and finished it in Ukraine, so it was a timely and therefore enjoyable read.
November 3, 2019
In this ambitious treatise, Timothy Snyder summarized the tumultuous evolutions in these four countries. Poland, as the regional hegemony, more or less served as an underlying narrative to the historical events: from the earlier Lublin Union, to the contemporary entry to the European Union and NATO.
The book started with a discussion of pre-modern periods. Vilnius served as a telling angle of the complexity of national narratives. Vilnius is the current capital of Lithuania but has historically been under claims from various countries. It is by no means simply a Lithuanian city. In the middle ages, a third of the inhabitants were Jewish, and Lithuanian was in minority. Its current ethnic composition was more or less the work of the Nazi Germany, who killed almost all the Jews, and the Soviet Union, who forcefully migrated the Poles. By discussing the historical evolution of the city, the author presented a very strong argument against the metahistorical attempts of political interests.
The author did a good job pointing out the linguistic undertone of social structures and historical events. For example, Polish has always been the language of culture and elitism; thus various nationalists from the early modern period faced challenges constructing a non-Polish culture. Also, Polish minorities failed to integrate well into the post-war Lithuania partly because it was hard for Poles to learn a Baltic language (Lithuanian). Belarusian was historically mostly spoken among the peasants and lacked its own cultural texts; thus its nationalists faced a distinct challenge when they tried to use the language to define their nation. Russian was later elected as an official language and easily dominated education.
Some of the discussions on the role of religions were interesting. In earlier periods, unification with the Roman Catholic Church was always perceived as a way to the West, whereas the Orthodoxy was perceived as a turn towards the East. The Brest Union in 1596 established the Uniate Church, which shared communion with the Roman Catholic Church but preserved some of the Orthodox rites. Thus it partly served as Poland-Lithuania’s move towards the Western tradition. However, the role of religion started to decline, and the establishment of modern states without any strong religious statements was in itself a demonstration of modernity.
The book was published in 2003 but its narrative largely finished at the turn of the century (1999). By then, the Soviet Union has disintegrated. Poland, Lithuanian and Ukraine started to seek European integration, whereas Belarus decisively turned towards Russia. By recognizing the status quo of existing borders and regarding each state as its peer - which was essential when it comes to issues with the policy to deal with minorities - Poland swiftly laid the groundwork for EU integration and served as a gateway to the EU project for other countries in the region. In 2004, one year after the book’s publication, Poland joined the European Union after years of work that paved its path. The author speaks highly of Poland’s Kultura vision which served as the framework for post Soviet affairs.
Timothy Snyder narrated mostly with a political and cultural perspective. Maybe adding an economic perspective would render something afresh, but admittedly it was not the book’s objective. The book was a narrative about narratives, and did not attempt to be an encyclopedic discussion of this region’s history. One other minor shortcoming may be the language - some of which was rather figurative. The sentences are sometimes constructed in a way that does not flow well. At various points I thought it was written by a non-native speaker, only to realize that he could not have been more native.
It is best to read an introductory book prior to this one. I personally relied heavily on internet especially Wikipedia (unfortunately) to get the context of the discussions, but it was an arduous read. Especially when it comes to the 20th century, the author often do not give sufficient introduction to the plethora of regionally prominent but internationally obscure politicians - which apparently could make it less than an engaging read for readers without prior knowledge.
The book started with a discussion of pre-modern periods. Vilnius served as a telling angle of the complexity of national narratives. Vilnius is the current capital of Lithuania but has historically been under claims from various countries. It is by no means simply a Lithuanian city. In the middle ages, a third of the inhabitants were Jewish, and Lithuanian was in minority. Its current ethnic composition was more or less the work of the Nazi Germany, who killed almost all the Jews, and the Soviet Union, who forcefully migrated the Poles. By discussing the historical evolution of the city, the author presented a very strong argument against the metahistorical attempts of political interests.
The author did a good job pointing out the linguistic undertone of social structures and historical events. For example, Polish has always been the language of culture and elitism; thus various nationalists from the early modern period faced challenges constructing a non-Polish culture. Also, Polish minorities failed to integrate well into the post-war Lithuania partly because it was hard for Poles to learn a Baltic language (Lithuanian). Belarusian was historically mostly spoken among the peasants and lacked its own cultural texts; thus its nationalists faced a distinct challenge when they tried to use the language to define their nation. Russian was later elected as an official language and easily dominated education.
Some of the discussions on the role of religions were interesting. In earlier periods, unification with the Roman Catholic Church was always perceived as a way to the West, whereas the Orthodoxy was perceived as a turn towards the East. The Brest Union in 1596 established the Uniate Church, which shared communion with the Roman Catholic Church but preserved some of the Orthodox rites. Thus it partly served as Poland-Lithuania’s move towards the Western tradition. However, the role of religion started to decline, and the establishment of modern states without any strong religious statements was in itself a demonstration of modernity.
The book was published in 2003 but its narrative largely finished at the turn of the century (1999). By then, the Soviet Union has disintegrated. Poland, Lithuanian and Ukraine started to seek European integration, whereas Belarus decisively turned towards Russia. By recognizing the status quo of existing borders and regarding each state as its peer - which was essential when it comes to issues with the policy to deal with minorities - Poland swiftly laid the groundwork for EU integration and served as a gateway to the EU project for other countries in the region. In 2004, one year after the book’s publication, Poland joined the European Union after years of work that paved its path. The author speaks highly of Poland’s Kultura vision which served as the framework for post Soviet affairs.
Timothy Snyder narrated mostly with a political and cultural perspective. Maybe adding an economic perspective would render something afresh, but admittedly it was not the book’s objective. The book was a narrative about narratives, and did not attempt to be an encyclopedic discussion of this region’s history. One other minor shortcoming may be the language - some of which was rather figurative. The sentences are sometimes constructed in a way that does not flow well. At various points I thought it was written by a non-native speaker, only to realize that he could not have been more native.
It is best to read an introductory book prior to this one. I personally relied heavily on internet especially Wikipedia (unfortunately) to get the context of the discussions, but it was an arduous read. Especially when it comes to the 20th century, the author often do not give sufficient introduction to the plethora of regionally prominent but internationally obscure politicians - which apparently could make it less than an engaging read for readers without prior knowledge.
November 5, 2021
Telescoping History
This book title is somewhat misleading. These "nations" were not formed in 1569, the author focuses on more. recent Soviet and post Soviet trends. Much less consideration falls to the formation of national opposition within Tsarist Russia, more falls on opposition to the USSR. The brush strokes are broad and not very convincing., although they are interesting. I bought this book looking for the origins of Ukraine at the end of Tsarist Russia....maybe two paragraphs on that, virtually no mention of break away from Russia then. More on that in Fritz Fischer. Snyder is a champion of ethnic nationalism, it is a positive thing he thinks to suppress minority languages and cultures today in Ukraine thru language laws in Ukrainian. And Poland's Pilsudski gets heroic, saintly status.
Curiously, Rosa Luxemburg gets lost from the history of Poland. Part of this is a slapdash Establishment anti-socialism in Snyder. The II International was very caught up in national questions. Rosa wrote on the 'Polish Question' but she showed no concern for its poets. It was not "internationalism" that caught Marxists up, it was the projections of Marx and Engels that modern industrial developments were pointing to the rise of Germany as the key to the class struggle and the coming revolution. Marx (and Kautsky) addressed various "national questions" usually in correspondence with local socialists in the Balkans or as the "Austrian socialists did, in terms of federation programs etc.
There is really no reason to think Ukraine has historic claims to the Crimea, that was clearly Tartar, and until the Tartare were massacred by Stalin in 1921 and 1943/4 and then deported, Ukrainians were not numerous along the coast of the Sea of Azov. Ukrainians claimed territory along the Volga near Vorenzeh in 1918 and have claimed parts of the Kuban and Caucasus, although the main concentration of Ukrainians was along the Dniepr centered on Kyiv/Kiev. Snyder celebrates to suppression of Russians throughout these Eastern European areas as though it was natural socialization...no, it is a product of public education (French was the language of the King, the lingua franca, Patois, local dialects were spoken in the provinces until public education taught grammar and pronunciation. Similar patterns show up in German, High German is school taught, varous dialects persist throughout Germany.
Recent patterns in Poland and Ukraine suggest there has been less than triumphant blossoming of a sweet national culture and that some real problems exist and persist. (corruption, chauvinism, anti-Western attitudes). Centers of Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment were few in Eastern Europe but these centers seem to have crucial in the development of attitudes of liberal humanism comparable to Western and Central Europe. It begs the question whether Eastern Europe has the cultural, let alone the economic foundations for successful integration in the EU.
This book title is somewhat misleading. These "nations" were not formed in 1569, the author focuses on more. recent Soviet and post Soviet trends. Much less consideration falls to the formation of national opposition within Tsarist Russia, more falls on opposition to the USSR. The brush strokes are broad and not very convincing., although they are interesting. I bought this book looking for the origins of Ukraine at the end of Tsarist Russia....maybe two paragraphs on that, virtually no mention of break away from Russia then. More on that in Fritz Fischer. Snyder is a champion of ethnic nationalism, it is a positive thing he thinks to suppress minority languages and cultures today in Ukraine thru language laws in Ukrainian. And Poland's Pilsudski gets heroic, saintly status.
Curiously, Rosa Luxemburg gets lost from the history of Poland. Part of this is a slapdash Establishment anti-socialism in Snyder. The II International was very caught up in national questions. Rosa wrote on the 'Polish Question' but she showed no concern for its poets. It was not "internationalism" that caught Marxists up, it was the projections of Marx and Engels that modern industrial developments were pointing to the rise of Germany as the key to the class struggle and the coming revolution. Marx (and Kautsky) addressed various "national questions" usually in correspondence with local socialists in the Balkans or as the "Austrian socialists did, in terms of federation programs etc.
There is really no reason to think Ukraine has historic claims to the Crimea, that was clearly Tartar, and until the Tartare were massacred by Stalin in 1921 and 1943/4 and then deported, Ukrainians were not numerous along the coast of the Sea of Azov. Ukrainians claimed territory along the Volga near Vorenzeh in 1918 and have claimed parts of the Kuban and Caucasus, although the main concentration of Ukrainians was along the Dniepr centered on Kyiv/Kiev. Snyder celebrates to suppression of Russians throughout these Eastern European areas as though it was natural socialization...no, it is a product of public education (French was the language of the King, the lingua franca, Patois, local dialects were spoken in the provinces until public education taught grammar and pronunciation. Similar patterns show up in German, High German is school taught, varous dialects persist throughout Germany.
Recent patterns in Poland and Ukraine suggest there has been less than triumphant blossoming of a sweet national culture and that some real problems exist and persist. (corruption, chauvinism, anti-Western attitudes). Centers of Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment were few in Eastern Europe but these centers seem to have crucial in the development of attitudes of liberal humanism comparable to Western and Central Europe. It begs the question whether Eastern Europe has the cultural, let alone the economic foundations for successful integration in the EU.
October 31, 2022
Absolutely hit the nail on the head when explaining the awkwardness of nationalism as a construction: e.g. while at their very beginning, Belarusian nationalism was very pro-Poland, while Lithuanian nationalism's main aim is to distance herself from "aggressive" Polish culture - almost the opposite of today's scenes. For most times reading The Reconstruction of Nations clouded my heart with tragedies and sorrow: Eastern Europe is indeed a land of countless innocent deaths, Nazi holocaust, Soviet deportation and persecution, Wolyn genocide, Operation Vistula... and for many times they are quite unreasonable, just like the awkwardness of nationalism, trying to divide a single national border and identity line between peoples who had lived relatively harmonious together for centuries.
The attitude might be a little bit too optimistic on the victory of reconciliation between nations (like some Fukuyaman ending of history), but it's reasonable since this book was written pro-2014. The most highlighted part, in my perspective, is when finished the parts of great massacres and genocide in 20th century, at 1991, when Polish intelligentsia Adam Michnik made his speech at the Ukrainian parliament, the two biggest nations between Germany and Russia finally came to the path of reconciliation: "... Solidarnosc is with you, Polish people stands with you. May fate smile upon you, may our Lord in heaven endow you with mighty powers. Long live for a free, democratic and just Ukraine!" I have to admit that I had tear drops in my eyes while reading this part.
The attitude might be a little bit too optimistic on the victory of reconciliation between nations (like some Fukuyaman ending of history), but it's reasonable since this book was written pro-2014. The most highlighted part, in my perspective, is when finished the parts of great massacres and genocide in 20th century, at 1991, when Polish intelligentsia Adam Michnik made his speech at the Ukrainian parliament, the two biggest nations between Germany and Russia finally came to the path of reconciliation: "... Solidarnosc is with you, Polish people stands with you. May fate smile upon you, may our Lord in heaven endow you with mighty powers. Long live for a free, democratic and just Ukraine!" I have to admit that I had tear drops in my eyes while reading this part.
January 10, 2023
Amazingly detailed and well-organized. Well worth a re-read to understand the complex process of nation-building that occured in Eastern Europe in the last 500 years. The author puts forward a specific theory linking Poland's status-quo preserving foreign policy in the 1990's to the relative lack of ethnic violence or territorial disputes. This happened specifically through the "kultura" diplomatic program, first put forward in the 1970s, that accepted all post-WW2 border changes in Western Europe and advocated independence of post-Soviet states. The author also credits Poland's pushing of "European standards", by which it socialized states in the region about perceived western standards on minority protection. This brought in human rights regimes and Western institutional values to fill the ideological void left by the USSR's collapse. By careful diplomacy and a clear focus on this program, Poland was able to prevent war with its neighbours and establish good relations with former Soviet states by gaining trust, resolving traumas and competing historigraphies of WWII and beyond, and eventually helping to bring the East into NATO's sphere of influence.
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