Timothy Snyder received the 2025 Vasyl Stus Prize at the PEN Ukraine Space

Організатори Премії імені Василя Стуса – Український ПЕН, Києво-Могилянська Бізнес-Школа та видавництво "Дух і Літера" – відзначили американського історика та письменника Тімоті Снайдера. Він отримав Премію імені Василя Стуса за 2025 рік 11 вересня у просторі Українського ПЕН у Києві.

The Vasyl Stus Prize was organized by PEN Ukraine, Kyiv Mohyla Business School and Dukh-i-Litera Publishing House. On 11 September, American historian and writer Timothy Snyder was awarded the 2025 Vasyl Stus Prize in the PEN Ukraine Space in Kyiv.

The Vasyl Stus Prize is awarded annually to living authors (writers, artists, directors, musicians, cultural managers) regardless of their place of residence for special contribution to Ukrainian culture and stability of civic stance. This year, the Prize was awarded for the 36^th time in a row. Over 70 cultural activists have been awarded the Prize since its establishment.

A scholar of the history of Central Europe, Ukraine, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust, Timothy Snyder speaks five and reads ten European languages. His books, including On Tyranny Graphic Edition: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America, On Freedom etc. have been translated into many languages. Snyder holds the inaugural Temerty Chair in Modern European History at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He is also a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and the head of the academic advisory council of Ukrainian History Global Initiative.

"There are so many Ukrainian poets and authors who could have, who still can, tell the essential truth about the war by the means of prose and poetry. This is why I feel a bit uncomfortable. I personally know so many people who articulate this war with prose and poetry. I’m so grateful. I can’t speak about myself in war-torn Ukraine: I can only speak about the others who are my teachers in the future and in the present", said Timothy Snyder in his speech.

Another speech about the American historian and writer’s contribution was given by the Vasyl Stus Prize Jury member, researcher, professor of the NaUKMA and Warsaw University, advisor of PEN Ukraine’s president Ola Hnatiuk.

"The Vasyl Stus Prize is the first award given to Timothy in Ukraine, and I think this is full of deep sense. This prize bears the name of the poet and citizen who considered freedom and responsibility inextricably related to one another. It is given to a person who, in the time of post-truth and threatening proximity of darkness, reminds urbi et orbi about freedom and responsibility. I thank Timothy for choosing his path, and I thank his path for choosing Tim", said she.

Volodymyr Yermolenko, philosopher, writer, president of PEN Ukraine, head of the Vasyl Stus Prize Jury, presented the award.

"Today, Timothy Snyder is one of the world’s most potent voices in support of Ukraine. This support comes from his conviction that tyrannies must be stoutly resisted. For Snyder, the dissidents from Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, show an example of such resistance. Of course, Vasyl Stus is among those dissidents. This prize also means that Snyder’s voice in our support is valued in Ukraine," said Volodymyr Yermolenko.

The Vasyl Stus Prize laureate received a statuette designed by Dmytro Pokrasion and Stanislav Kadochnykov and a monetary reward.

At the end of the ceremony, the audience heard Vasyl Stus’s poetry recited by poet and Board member of PEN Ukraine, Kateryna Kalytko. The performance was accompanied by musical improvisation of philosopher, writer, president of PEN Ukraine, Volodymyr Yermolenko.

The ceremony was hosted by journalist, TV and radio presenter, Vadym Karpiak.

During the ceremony, the organizers announced a fundraiser for vehicles to meet the needs of the Special Forces Center Omega.

The awarding ceremony was broadcasted on the Facebook pages and YouTube channels of Espreso TV channel, PEN Ukraine, and Kyiv Mohyla Business School.

The main information partner of the Vasyl Stus Prize is Espreso TV channel.

Information partners: Ukrainska Pravda, 5 Channel, Radio Culture, Suspilne Culture.

During the ceremony, the organizers announced a fundraiser for vehicles to meet the needs of the Special Forces Center Omega. Since 2023, its separate squad has performed combat missions in the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia. We kindly invite you to join the fundraiser:

Link to the jar
https://send.monobank.ua/jar/snPtsA3t3

Card number of the jar
4874 1000 2818 3690

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We shall remind that the Vasyl Stus Prize is one of the most long-term Ukrainian awards in the field of culture. The Prize was founded in 1989 by the Ukrainian Association of Independent Creative Intelligentsia (UANTI) headed by Yevhen Sverstyuk (1928-2014). Since 2016, the Prize has been sponsored by PEN Ukraine, Kyiv-Mohyla Business School and Dukh i Litera publishing house. They decided to make some changes to the current tradition of this award, namely, to create a jury, provisions for the award and distinction.

PEN Ukraine awards the Vasyl Stus Prize annually to living authors (writers, artists, directors, musicians, cultural managers) regardless of their place of residence for special contribution to Ukrainian culture and stability of civic stance. Three months before the award ceremony, each member of the jury announces one candidate with a short (up to 100 words) written justification.

All announced candidates are considered by the jury meeting in two stages. At the first stage, a long list of candidates is formed by rating. At the following stage, the winner is determined by anonymous voting, based on a simple majority of votes.

To see the list of the 2025 Vasyl Stus Prize jury, please follow the link.