On Freedom

In the Preface, Snyder situates his reflections on freedom within the context of wartime Ukraine. He begins with encounters in villages such as Posad Pokrovs’ke and Yahidne, where residents return after Russian occupation to lives marked by destruction, loss, and the need for rebuilding. Snyder notes that while the removal of immediate threats—bombings, executions, and confinement—represents a form of “de-occupation,” it does not, by itself, create true liberty. Freedom requires the presence of supportive structures: homes, schools, safe spaces for children, and collective efforts that allow individuals to live with dignity.

Conversations with Ukrainians reinforce this distinction. Citizens, soldiers, and leaders describe freedom not as “freedom from” but as “freedom for”—a condition that enables meaningful futures. Their comments emphasize family, opportunity, and the possibility of normal life over mere absence of oppression. Snyder frames this perspective as a corrective to a purely “negative” understanding of liberty, which defines freedom only as the lack of external constraint.

Drawing on Ukrainian experiences, Snyder contrasts this with American conceptions of freedom, which often equate liberty with the absence of government interference. He warns that viewing freedom as granted by outside forces or inherited from the past is a dangerous