#415 – Serhii Plokhy: History of Ukraine, Russia, Soviet Union, KGB, Nazis & War

Lex Fridman Podcast

Serhii Plokhy is a Ukrainian historian at Harvard University, director of the Ukrainian Research Institute, and an author of many books on history of Eastern Europe, including his latest book The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/lex to get special savings
– Shopify: https://shopify.com/lex to get $1 per month trial
– NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/lex to get free product tour
– AG1: https://drinkag1.com/lex to get 1 month supply of fish oil

Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/serhii-plokhy-transcript

EPISODE LINKS:
Serhii’s X: https://x.com/splokhy
Serhii’s Website: https://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/serhii-plokhii
Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute: https://huri.harvard.edu/
Serhii’s Books: https://amzn.to/3OS2EqK
2006 – The Origins of the Slavic Nations
2010 – Yalta: The Price of Peace
2012 – The Cossack Myth: History and Nationhood in the Age of Empires
2014 – The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union
2015 – The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine
2016 – The Man with the Poison Gun: A Cold War Spy Story
2017 – Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation
2018 – Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy
2021 – Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis
2021 – The Frontline: Essays on Ukraine’s Past and Present
2022 – Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disaster
2023 – The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:
– Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast
– Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman
– Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(09:10) – Collapse of the Soviet Union
(25:19) – Origins of Russia and Ukraine
(38:22) – Ukrainian nationalism
(46:04) – Stepan Bandera
(1:15:05) – KGB
(1:30:03) – War in Ukraine
(2:06:19) – NATO and Russia
(2:17:22) – Peace talks
(2:31:09) – Ukrainian Army head Valerii Zaluzhnyi
(2:37:46) – Power and War
(2:48:37) – Holodomor
(2:55:09) – Chernobyl
(3:05:43) – Nuclear power
(3:15:20) – Future of the world