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Vladimir Putin (b. 1952)

President of Russia, referenced throughout the book as a tyrant and a technocrat who exercises power especially through the control of fossil fuels. The Russian invasions of Ukraine initiated by Putin in 2014 and 2022 are both discussed in the book.

Volodymyr Zelens’kyi (b. 1978)

President of Ukraine since 2019. While many thought that he would abandon Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion, instead he stayed and the country has been fighting against the invasion ever since. He is characterized as someone who is in favor of freedom, a contrast to Putin’s aggressive and tyrannical leadership.

Edith Stein (1891-1942)

A German philosopher who was born Jewish and later converted to Catholicism. She was a nurse during World War I and focused on theories of empathy. Snyder references her throughout the book and borrows her specific use of the word Leib.

Simone Weil (1909-1943) 

A French philosopher and activist whose writings gained attention in the 1950s and 60s, after her death. Her work focused on recognizing other people (something she described as an act of love). Snyder references her throughout the book, specifically regarding the need to recognize and defend the freedom of others.

Václav Havel (1936-2011)

Former president of the Czech Republic, as well as an author and playwright. Snyder uses an excerpt from Havel’s book Power for the Powerless when discussing how groups of people are labeled and treated under fascist regimes.

Frantz Fanon (1925-1961)

A philosopher and psychiatrist who was a French citizen but of Caribbean descent, which factored greatly into his writing about colonization. Fanon wrote about stereotypes and how they limit both social and physical mobility (the third type of freedom Snyder discusses).

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