Humanity's greatest political achievement has been the decline of wars. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a gateway to changing the direction of human history – writes historian and bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari in *The Economist*. The Russian attack on Ukraine prompts reflection on the nature of history and humanity: are we ready for change, or is repeating historical mistakes inevitable? – ponders historian, philosopher, and author of international bestsellers on human history, Yuval Noah Harari, in The Economist. There is a view that the world is a jungle where the strong prevail over the weak, and the reason the entire world is not plunged into war is the military might of states. Harari encourages thinking that a change in history is possible, and the law of the jungle is a choice rather than an inevitability. The decline of wars stems from humans making better choices. The historian considers this the greatest political achievement of modern civilization. The advent of nuclear weapons caused the most militarily powerful states to change their approach to resolving conflicts. For 70 years, there has been no direct war between superpowers. “In this time, the global economy has transformed into a knowledge-based economy. Where the main sources of wealth used to be gold mines, wheat fields, and oil wells, today the main source of wealth is knowledge, hence the profitability of conquest has decreased,” he believes. In the past, leaders viewed war positively and desired to make their mark on history through conquests. For several generations, governments and societies have viewed war as bad and avoidable. Politicians come to power promising reforms, not conquests. Since 1945, the number of wars has decreased, and over the last 20 years, wars have caused fewer deaths than, for example, car accidents. For centuries, peace was a temporary phenomenon. However, in recent decades, the meaning of the word peace has become a constant and certain phenomenon. In recent years, states worldwide have spent only about 6.5% of their budgets on armed forces – Harari argues. According to him, the Russian threat of invasion of Ukraine is a threat to human history. Why? If conquering countries becomes the norm again, people will change their attitudes and behavior once more. “If states begin to increase spending on armaments, international dialogue will be weakened, and common goals, such as preventing climate change, will lose their significance. All of this can condemn our species to extinction,” believes the writer. “The development of cyber weapons, artificial intelligence-based economies, and new military cultures could usher in a new era of warfare, worse than anything we have seen before,” warns the historian. Yuval Harari, author of the global bestseller “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,” will appear live in Poland for the first time. On May 11, he will open Impact’22 – the most important technological and economic event in Central and Eastern Europe.