National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

Uh, but my experience has allowed me to, to take a, a, a wider view, uh, to be- to begin with the, uh, you know, with a more dispassionate intellectual approach.

You know, I, uh, going to Ukraine, uh, at first as a lecturer at the University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, and talking about democracy and, uh, uh, how people, um, you know, build political communities, and this is all wonderful stuff.

But as part of my experience, I start to see that Ukraine is the front line of a global war, and I started to see, um, we, we could go back further, but I started to see the first battles of this global war with, uh, the events around what we call the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

Because this, as it turns out, was an active measure by Russia against Ukraine to put their guy, Viktor Yanukovych, over a typical democratic, uh, politician, a former econom- economist, sound familiar? [laughs] Uh, and, uh, named, uh, Yushchenko, uh, and he was poisoned, by the way, by the Russians, um, very prominently.

in 1993 when I was at Metchnikoff National University in Odessa.

Marta, you, of course, were at Kyiv Mohyla in Kyiv.

That's when we got to know each other, actually.

I wanted to kind of pull on a couple of threads kind of going forward on this.

He funded the construction and restoration of dozens of churches in this beautiful, highly ornate architectural style that became known as Ukrainian Baroque.

And he heavily expanded the Kyiv Mohyla Academy too, right?

Yes, transforming it into a premier educational institution that drew students from all across the Orthodox world.

Okay, so during all of this state building, he is also cementing an incredibly close relationship with the young Russian Tsar, Peter the Great.