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       In the war for Ukraine, it’s Zelensky versus Putin. Two men with essentially the same first name fighting for their place in history — not just for their respective countries but for the ancestral roots that Russia and Ukraine share, and that both rulers claim to be the true defender of.

       And a prince, who ruled more than 1,000 years ago — known in Russia as Vladimir the Great and in Ukraine as Volodymyr the Great — lies at the heart of that intertwined history. We get into that today.

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       Host: Gustavo Arellano

       Guest: University of Cambridge lecturer in early Slavonic culture Olenka Pevny

       More reading:

       Putin’s rationale for Ukraine invasion gets the history wrong

       Ukrainian Tales

       In battle between Russia and Ukraine, even God is in dispute