The History of Russia Podcast

Napoleon had sat in an empty, burned-out Moscow for weeks waiting for a response from Alexander.

But the Russian emperor had stayed silent and so Bonaparte had decided it was time to head back west.

What he didn't know is that his retreat would become one of the biggest military disasters of all time.

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Today we are going to see how and why Napoleon reached Moscow so easily 

But, here's the question. Would he be able to do the second of the two things he wanted to do and force Alexander to the negotiating table and get him to surrender? 

We’ll also be making short visits to Iberia and the Caucasus, and then for no other reason than I think it’s interesting and it puts things into context in terms of events happening on the global stage, we’ll cover a couple of slight diversions that had taken place over in the UK and the USA, which would involve an assasination and the start of yet another war.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions then you can send them across to me via good old-fashioned email -

nordicworld@outlook.com

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This week we follow the Grande Armée on the road to Moscow. However, in between Napoleon and Russia's ancient capital was the village of Borodino which Kutusov had occupied and this time it looked like the Russians were going to stand and fight.

We'll also be taking a brief look at what was going on in Spain and the Caucasus and I offer my thoughts on why Napoleon was aiming for Moscow and not St Petersburg and what it was actually like to be an ordinairy soldier in a Napoleonic era army

Please note that from now on, the 1812 mini series is going to become increasingly grim so perhaps best not to listen when little ears are around.

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Today’s episode will feature two main events - a long, muddled chase. Barclay De Tolly pulling back, Bagration trying to catch up with him, neither of them quite knowing where each other was and Napoleon's marshals trying to make sure that the two Russian armies never quite managed to meet up and combine forces

And in August, almost 2 months after the invasion had started, we will have our first battle - well sort of.

We also have a couple of other sideshows to keep an eye on, neither of which were at the forefront of either Napoleon’s or Alexander’s minds - the Iberian campaign and the continuing rumbling in the Caucasus.

By the way if there is a medical term for the fear of saying the place-name' Smolensk", I've got it.

If you want to get in touch it's -

nordicworld@outlook.com

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This time around, we’ll be covering just the two things, the somewhat inevitable fall of Speransky and the events that would lead up to and include Napoleon’s full scale invasion of Russia in June 1812.

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In Today's episode we'll be visiting a number of different locations.

First, Iberia — because Napoleon's other war, the one being fought in Spain and Portugal, was quietly draining exactly the men, materiel and focus that would be ideally required in the east. 

Then we’ll head east ourselves, to the Ottoman front and take a short detour into the Caucasus. 

Next it’s back to St Petersburg, to watch Speransky's reform programme start to come apart at the seams. 

And then finally, the main event — the actual mechanics of how France and Russia went from suspicious allies to open enemies over the course of 1811, and what both sides were doing about it.

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Today we're going to look at what Tilsit actually meant first of all for Russia. 

What it did to the domestic mood, what it meant economically, how it left a messy war with the Ottomans (yes, Russia nd Turkey were at it gain), hanging in mid-air

We will also be covering what the reform minded civil servant Mikhail Speransky was quietly trying to do in the background.

And then finally, we’ll examine the hairline cracks that were starting to appear with regard to the Franco-Russian relationship and how they started to impact upon the bigger European picture.

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Napoleon continued to sweep all before him - on land. But at sea, it was a different story.

Prussia decided to join the allied coalition, and imediately regreted it. Which meant that Alexander had no other choice but go to war with the French.

But that would all, literrally end in tears and Napoleon and Alexander agreed to a treaty - which on paper looked advantageous to both but in hindsight, just papered over the cracks.

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It's 1804 and a new coalition was being formed (the 3rd) to try to and defeat Napoleon and the French.

However, in the following year the French emperor would again show just why he was one of the greatest military figures of all time,

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Paul is dead, Alexander is the new Tsar and so today we're going to cover the first two to three years of his reign — roughly 1801 to 1803, where surely, things in Russia could only get better...

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Today we are doing something slightly different.

We are stepping off of the chronological conveyor belt — which has been moving at quite a clip lately — and we are going to take a breather and look at something I have perhaps neglected (well there is no 'perhaps' about it - I have).

So for the next 35 or so minutes come with me on a journey through 18th Century Russian culture. The art, the architecture. the literature, the music - and let's see if we can work out whether any of it was actualy Russian.

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It's the 23rd of March 1801 and in the Mikhailovsky Castle, just outside St Petersburg, something terrible is about to happen...

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Today as the title suggests we're going to cover three main themes or subjects

Firstly, Paul's support of Napoleon’s march on India. 

Secondly, we are going to spend some time trying to get to know Paul’s eldest son and heir, Alexander, who was a fascinating and genuinely complicated young man, with good reason.

And then we’ll finish things off by taking a look at some of the people around Paul who were starting to get seriously hacked-off with the Tsar himself and the direction that things in general were going.

If you want get in touch with a question or a positive or negative comment then you can by sending me a mail at nordicworld@outlook.com and I will try to respond as soon as I can.

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Today is another of those episodes, where in th early stages anyway, Russia is not the primary focus and is somewhat on the periphery because the real action is happening elsewhere and much of that is being driven by events in France

Having said that Paul, as you would probably expect, does manage to get involved and do some Paul-like things 

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After featuring in 36 episodes, Catherine who had transformed Russia has departed the scene. 

Which means that the 42 year old, father of 8, Pavel or Paul Petrovich Romanov is now the emperor of all the Russias.

Today, we’ll be taking a look a look back at what made Paul the man he was and we’ll also be covering the first couple of years of his reign to see how he dealt with his mother’s legacy 

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This week we are covering three items - Russia’s further consolidation of its Alaskan territory, Catherine’s, post- Potemkin love life.and then finally, we’ll witness three deaths, one which in the great scope of things was pretty insignificant, another which would be sadly almost pathetically tragic and a third which would genuinely mark the end of an era.

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Today we are going to zoom in on that period just after the dust had settled — roughly 1792 onwards — and have a look at what Russia looked like from a geopolitical standpoint

We'll also be talking about a man, sadly for the last time, who had become one of the titans of Russian History. Grigory Potemkin. (in a way I'm glad because for some strange reason my pronunciation of his name was inconsistent to say the least)

And then we'll be spending some time with a general who, if you remember from the last episode, had won every major battle that he had been involved in - Alexander Suvorov. Which for the Polish/Lithuanian commonwealth would spell even more disaster. 

And finally, we’ll take a quick peek at what was going on in France where the Ancien Regime was being turned upside down and what Catherine’s thought about it all.

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After a decade of calmness in Russia with not much happening, the late 1780's suddenly exploded into action with wars against both the Ottomans and the Swedes and we also witness the death of another major European player.

Oh and don't be alarmed but for this epsiode only, I've changed things - musically.

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This time around we’ll be looking at, in general, more calmness and I’ll be concentrating on just four things that will take us up to the mid 1780s

Further Russian territorial expansion and a touch more provincial reform 

We’ll follow that with one or two family matters (not mine I hasten to add, but Catherine’s)

And then in the second part of the episode we’ll look at a  European geopolitical shift and the deaths of two of our major players. 

And then we’ll end up with the facts or rumours (you decide) that were doing the rounds regarding Grigory Potemkin

Oh and as usual, there will be the odd interjection from our avian friends.

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In today’s episode there are three things on the agenda.

An overall summary of the key events and main themes of The History of Russia from 840i to 1780 and how those themes and events had made Russia what it had become by the late 18th Century

A whizz around the world in 1780 to see what was going on outside of Russia, again big-picture wise.

And then as if that wasn’t enough you’ll get to hear me waffling on about the pitiful existence of an independent podcaster and what I think the future holds for me and others like me who do the same thing.

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This time around we'll be covering a 5 year period 1776 -1780 where Russia was going through a very rare calm period particularly when balanced against what had gone on between 1768 and 1775 and what would take place in the late 1780s. 

But that’s not to say, as you will soon see, that nothing was happening.

Apologies, one Rooster in particular decided that the early part of the episode wasn't quite to his liking and decided to complain, loudly and often. I managed to edit most of it out but you can still catch the occasional bit of crowing.

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After a long lay off the boy is back!

Today, we’re going to track back to look at some other events that took place between 1772 and 1777 and in particular what was going on with Catherine and her son Paul and the steps that the empress would take to deal with yet another pretender to the Russian throne. 

Oh, and right at the end I’ll tell you a bit about what I’ve been up to over the last couple of months and how that will hopefully affect, the podcast’s future, in a positive way, and apologies in advance, I’m just getting over a bout of Tonsillitis and so my voice might be a bit up and down.

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Just a short update from me about life in general and the short-term impact to the podcast.

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In recent episodes we've seen how various major events - the war with the Ottomans, the first partition of Poland, Smallpox, Pugachev, and the Moscow plague outbreak, occupied every waking hour of Catherine the Great's life.

But did they? 

Well in today's epsiode we are going to discover that the answer to that question was a resounding 'no'

There's no listener discretion required for this one - play it loud and play it often! 

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Pugachev's rebellion gathers steam but Catherine the Great, who has other things to worry about, fails to take it seriously.

Once again, some parts of this episode are, to say the least, a bit on the grim side....

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In the first part of the episode we’ll be heading back to the 1760s and looking at the steps Catherine and others had taken to counter the effects of another of the 18th century’s fatal diseases - the dreaded smallpox.

And then after that we’ll be taking a look at some further Russian territorial expansion and then finally the very beginning of and the reasons for the most serious rebellion of Catherine’s reign which was led by - Tsar Peter III, that’s right, that Peter III, the one who had died or been murdered back in 1762. 

Like the last episode some of today’s content, especially during the first half is a little bit on the uncomfortable side and so perhaps the whole thing is best listened to late at night when little ears are safely tucked up in bed.

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In today’s episode and as per the title we’ll be looking at three major items

Firstly the Russo-Turkish war, which we’ll be bringing to a close, secondly we’ll cover an outbreak of the plague and then we’ll finish things off by looking at how the war ended and what the resultant peace meant for both the Russian and Ottoman empires.

Listener discretion required - Please note that some parts of the episode are, to say the least, a liitle bit on the grim side.

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Battleships are at the ready in Cheshme Bay and Frederick the Great comes up with a very cunning plan

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Grigory Potemkin makes his mark at court and the next installment of the Russo-Ottoman wars gets underway.

Oh, and I make not one, not two but three almost catastrophic errors.

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This time around we’ll look into what the Turks objected to, see who the next, and last King of Poland will be and investigate how this whole palaver resulted in a full scale war between Russia and the Ottomans.

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On the home front Catherine continues to be thwarted.

However, in the field of foreign diplomacy, she plays a blinder (or does she?)

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This time around we’ll be taking a look at two part-related subjects, The condition of Serfdom and Catherine's legal reforms or Nakaz.

However if you are expecting a series of wholesale, fundamental changes - don't hold your collective breaths...

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This time around, and as the episode title indicates, we’ll be covering two main incidents, 1763’s Khitrovo Affair which would have implications for the man of the moment, Catherine’s lover, Grigory Orlov and 1764’s Mirovich Plot which would result in the sad demise of one of our other key characters and both events would, in the end, have a positive outcome for the new empress. 

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This time around we’ll be taking a look at the steps that Catherine would take to kick start and consolidate her rule - how she would deal with the people who had helped her to seize power and how she would lay down her authority with the key institutions of the Russian state - government, church and the army..

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So in today’s episode we’ll be taking another break from the chronological narrative and looking instead at mainly, the last three decades and a bit, at what went on in Russia from a commercial and business perspective.

And to help us through this tumultuous and fascinating period of more recent Russian History we have someone who has spent four decades travelling and working in the Soviet Union and Russia, who speaks fluent Russian, who holds degrees from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania and who, luckily for us, just happens to have written a book.

Zero sum - which brings vividly to life, via meticulous research and through the fascinating and sometimes tragicomic experiences of the people who were there at the time, Russia’s transformation from Soviet dinosaur through proto-capitalist free for all to today’s, difficult to pigeon hole economic situation and how we in the west just never seem, commercially, culturally  or geopolitically, to get it right with Russia.  

Yes today dear listeners we are joined by author, journalist, geopolitical risk consultant and self-professed Russia geek, Charles Hecker 

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In this week’s episode ware going to look at four main items

A short appraisal of Peter’s reign, a longer appraisal of Elizabeth’s time in charge, a look at the recent coup’s winners and losers and then finally, how Catherine and her advisors (well actually, one advisor) explained away the death of her husband.

Oh and there's a heartfealt apology from me regarding a mistake I made last time out....

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A longer than usual episode which provides an overall look at the world in 1762 - just at the point when Catherine was starting her reign in Russia.

Britannia ruled the waves (or was starting to) and the age of enlightenment and the trans-atlantic slave trade were approaching their respective zeniths.

The agrarian and industrial revolutions were just getting underway, and Augustus III of Poland-Lithuania and Saxony had the largest collection of hats and wigs in Europe.

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Whilst the new regime is finalising it's coup, over at Oranienbaum, a blissfully ignorant Peter has just drilled his Holstein guards and is now on his way to Peterhof to celebrate his name day.

But when he get's there, Catherine is of course, nowhere to be seen .

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This time around we’ll be looking at the latest events in the Seven Years War, Peter’s Danish campaign, how becoming Tsar had affected his relationship with his wife Catherine and finally, and as the episode title in a fairly unsubtle way hints at, what Catherine and her allies decided to do about things.

Apologies for the poor pronunciation throughout - there were just too many Schleswigs, Shlisselburgs and Oranienbaums for me to cope with....

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This time around we’ll be looking at the events that unfolded in the years 1761 and 1762 which, as the title suggests, sadly involves the end of the line for the Empress Elizabeth.

But, in an age when Russia had no clearly defined order of succession, much like today, no one was entirely sure what or who would happen next.

For one person though, the change of regime in St Petersburg would represent a long sought after miracle.

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This time around we’ll be covering the years 1759 and 1760.

Years in which the Grand Duchess Catherine and Frederick the Great will be taking stock of their own respective situations and enacting plans to safeguard their own respective futures.

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It's Spring 1758 and Grand Duchess Catherine is attempting to extricate herself from yet another difficult situation.

Meanwhile, over in Prussia, Frederick the Great, despite having just won major battles against the French and the Austrians, is trying to work out how to deal with the enemies that still surround him in every direction.

One of them will get out of their hole, the other will keep on digging.

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This week we’ll be putting the seven years war to one side whilst we concentrate instead on events that took place in Russia during 1757 and 1758 which, in no particular order, include the reasons for, and the political and personal fallout from, that Russian withdrawal, Catherine and Stansislaus’s affair, the Empress Elizabeth’s health and Peter’s pro-Prussian leanings.

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It's 1757 and for the first time in a long time the Russian army gets to flex its muscles.

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In this episode we’ll be taking a closer look at the affair between Catherine and Poniatowsky and we’ll be checking in on yet another health scare. 

But as interesting as those subjects are, we'll be spending the majority of our time getting to grips with some new, major developments on the European diplomatic front - developments that would turn the old established order on its head and that would come as a nasty surprise for two key individuals. 

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This time around there are Just two main items on the agenda  - The Empress Elizabeth’s ongoing, and so-far frustrated efforts, to secure the Romanov succession and the political machinations and intrigues that would eventually lead to the outbreak of the Seven Years War.

Oh and finally and as indicated by the title there is someone from outside of Russia who gets to play quite an important and intriguing role in our proceedings.

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This week, probably much to everyone's relief, we will be taking a break from the ceaseless round of court intrigue and instead we’ll be looking at what else was going on in Russia during the Elizabethan age.

What else, apart from pilgrimages, cross-dressing balls, and controlling her dynasties destiny was Elizabeth up to and what was going on, away from St Petersburg and Moscow in the ever expanding and increasingly vast Russian Empire?

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This week, I'm afraid, it's more court based chicanery and Intrigue (hence the title). However to avoid just doing a rinse and repeat, I’m going to speed things up a bit and the aim will be to get from where we are now, which is 1748, right through to the year 1753 where we will start to see that both at home and abroad, things were beginning to take on a different shape...

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This week we’ll be covering the years between 1745 and 1748 and looking at how Peter, Catherine and Elizabeth were all getting along through the events and outcomes related to yet another series of court intrigues and incidents 

Plus we'll invetigate  the European diplomatic and political scene in the aftermath of the recent war and then finally we’ll be waving goodbye, or saying auf wiedersehen, to a couple of characters from the supporting cast.

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In this weeks episode we rejoin the main chronological narrative and take a look at the ups and downs of our key characters during  1744 and 1745..

On the up were the Empress Elizabeth, Sophie of Anhalt Zerbst, Maria Theresa of Austria and Alexei Bestuzhev

Sliding down were Johanna of Brunswick and Frederick the great 

And Peter Fyodorovich..... well he's got problems of his own.

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In this episode we take a step back from the goings on at the Russian court and the war of the Austrian Succession and instead take a peek at the overall state of the Russian Empire and the overall state of Eliazabeth’s mind.

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It's January 1744 and Peter Fyodorovich the heir to the Russian throne and his aunt Elizabeth have got some German visitors to entertain and one of them is the almost 15 year old Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst. In the meantime Prussia and France are again plotting against Bestuzhev and the Austrian empress, Maria Theresa, has her eyes on Silesia.

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This weeks episode is centered around the eponymous Lopukhina Conspiracy but who is doing the conspiring and who is being conspired against?

Plus events in Sweden are brought to a head, George II, the King of England gets involved in the war of the Austrian Succession, things take a downward turn for the Brunswicks and the Empress Elizabeth goes ballistic when she sees someone wearing pink!

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Elizabeth has been busy putting her house in order which means that I have a number of loose ends to tie up. 

Plus we get to meet a distant relative and we'll also see what's been going on with the Austrians, French and Prussians.

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Elizabeth Petrovna is the new empress of Russia. However, she's busy getting her house in order and there is a coronation to plan.

So whilst she's off doing that, we'll undertake a quick retrospective of Anna Ivanovna's reign and then we'll take a look at the causes, and the initial events, of the War of the Austrian Succession.

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Today in a slightly longer episode than normal we’ll be covering the period between October 1740 and December 1741 which is 15 months and not a year but I think you’ll agree that ‘The 15 months of living dangerously’ doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

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If you want to sign up to get members only episodes, early access to general release episodes, ad free content and written transcripts, for the price of a cup of coffee a month, then you can in a couple of ways 

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In this episode, we’ll be concentrating on further events centred around the Russian court in St Petersburg, which taken as a whole, and as per the deliberately mysterious and enigmatic episode title, may or may not point to the beginning of the end for the Miloslavsky branch of the Romanov dynasty.

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Diplomacy with with the Persians, war with the Ottomans, an outbreak of Bubonic Plague and reform on the home front - plus I pronounce 'L'Hermitage' in a really strange way...

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After a couple of decades of peace most of Europe get's back to a more normal state of affairs with The War of the Polish Succession.

Meanwhile back in Moscow, Anna had her own succesion decision to make and Elizabeth Petrovna needed to be careful.

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A look at Anna's early life, her first three years in charge of Russia and what went on at court - allegedly.....

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The Supreme Privy Council finds itself in charge of Russia's fate - but will it's scheming be successful?

Oh, and someone catches Smallpox...

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The Prince takes the 11 year old Peter II under his wing (or thinks that he does)

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This week we’ll be taking a closer look at the Supreme Privy council, Plus we’ll get to see how Russia and Great Britain almost came to blows and how Menshikov managed to get his daughter engaged to a member of the established imperial family.

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List of books that I use (or have used) for the podcast

Chronicle of the Russian Tsars - David Warnes  (A good high-level history)

The Gates of Europe - Serhii Plokhy (Ukrainian History)

Russia, A history - Gregory L Freeze

Russia and the Russians - Geoffrey Hosking

Russia - Martin Sixsmith (Another High-level history)

The Cambridge History of Russia, Volume 1 - From the Early Rus to 1689) (Very detailed but a bit on the heavy side)

Peter the Great - Robert Massie

Catherine the Great - Robert Massie 

The Romanovs - Simon Sebag Montefiore

The Longman companion to Imperial Russia 1689 - 1917 - David Longley  - full of facts, some of which the other books just don’t include but more of a reference guide

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The Subscription service is live!

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Catherine I becomes Autocrat and Russia's first Empress

But is she the one in charge?

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If you haven't already guessed, this week's episode is all about the Cossacks and the Tatars.....

For further reading on the Age of Enlightenment -

the-age-of-enlightenment

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This week it’s state of the nation time again but with a twist because instead of just looking at Russia we’ll be covering what was going on with Russia’s neighbours, then Europe and finally, the rest of the world in the year 1725

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This week we cover Peter the Great's reputation and legacy and take a look at who's in the frame to become the next ruler of Russia

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This week we analyse the death of Alexei Petrovich, take a checkpoint of Russia in 1721, look at events between 1721 and 1725 and then finally cover Peter's declining health....

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This week we look at the creation of a new city and how Peter got along with his son and heir, Alexei.

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We reach the defining phase of the Great Northern War, cover the severe winter of 1708/09, and take a look at Peter's new brains trust.

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Denmark, Poland/Saxony and Russia want to crush Sweden. Charles XII, the Swedish King, has other ideas.....

Period covered - 1701 to 1706

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Peter's back in Moscow and change is in the air...

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Tsar Peter goes to Europe on a shipbuilding/diplomacy/drinking trip

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This week we cover Peter's overall aims and ambitions, take a further look at the all Joking all Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters, and see how Russia fares against the Ottomans during the Azov campaign.

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This week's episode sees the start of a multi-part series all about the life and times of Peter the Great.

Part 1 takes a look at  Peter's early years and covers the period between 1672 and 1696

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A birds-eye view of Russia and the world in 1689 plus listener questions answered. (hopefully...)

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If you've got a question on Russian History then get it to me by Thursday 21st July via -

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Sophia and Golitsyn are in charge but Peter is starting to flex his muscles... 

Period Covered: 1682 - 1689

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The Miloslavskys strike back!

Period Covered: 1682

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Tsar Alexei is dead, long live Tsar Fyodor - except..... he's ill, Russia is fighting the Ottomans and the Romanovs are divided.

Period Covered 1676 - 1682

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This week we take a look at how Russian Society was organised in the late 17th Century and in particular, how the institution of serfdom had developed.

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This week we look at the various wars Tsar Alexei was invoved in and then finish off the episode by summing up his life and reign.

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Russia's version of Henry II vs Thomas Becket...

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This week we summarise and conclude Tsar Mikhail's time in charge and take a first look at his son and heir, Aleksei.

Period Covered; 1645 - 1649 

'Hi Everyone' in Polish = cześć wszystkim

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This week we take a look at the entwined history of Russia and Ukraine (and a tiny bit of Belarus) and then I take a stab at predicting what's likely to happen next...

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This week we cover some background to recent events in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden, and then take a look at the remainder of Tsar Mikhail Romanov's (and Filaret's) time in charge of Russia.

Period Covered 1619 -1645

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The time of troubles is over and there's a new Tsar and a new dynasty

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The madness continues but there is just a chink of light at the end of the tunnel...

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About 400 years ago, at the beginning of the 17th Century, it was Russia that was on the back foot.....

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In a break from the main narrative we take a look at the new power to Russia’s south, the fascinating and mysterious Ottoman empire.

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This week we look at Ivan the Terrible's final years as Tsar,  summarise his achievements, failures and legacy (and see what a couple of other Russian leaders, J.Stalin, and V.Putin thought of him) and then we'll finish off by covering the comparatively short reign of the last Rurikid Tsar, Ivan’s son, Feodor the first.

Period Covered    1572 - 1598

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This week we look at the middle part of Ivan the Terrible's reign which starts well but then, for various reasons, goes rapidly downhill.

Period covered: circa 1550 - 1571 

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We start the new year by looking at the overall European political/ geopolitical landscape in the early 16th century and then get stuck into the initial part of Ivan IV’s (AKA Ivan the Terrible's) time in charge of Moscow/Russia

Period covered 1533 - 1550 ish

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We reflect on the past 500 years of the Rus state, look at the impacts of the Mongol Invasion/Occupation and cover the reign of, Ivan the Great's son, Vasili III, who after 20 years of marriage, still doesn't have an heir....

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This week we’ll be covering the second part of Ivan III’s 43 year reign and seeing how things developed in a Moscow finally free of it’s Mongol shackles and with things surprisingly quiet on its western borders, or at least for the time being they were...

Period Covered 1480 to 1505

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Byzantium collapses, the Golden Horde disintegrates, Novgorod falls and Moscow embarks on a 25 year long Civil War.

Period Covered  1425 - 1480

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This week we’ll be looking at the key regional players, Moscow of course, Lithuania, the Golden Horde, Novgorod plus a new one that comes to the party, Poland, and how all of them were impacted, either directly or indirectly, by the actions of the last great nomadic conqueror to emerge from Eurasian Steppe, Tamerlane.

Period Covered  1389 - 1425

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Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy wins battles against the Mongols and the Lithuanians but do these victories prove to be a turning point?

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