Podcast Update - November 2025
Just a short update from me about life in general and the short-term impact to the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 25, 2025•3 min
The History of Russia Podcast
A podcast exploring everything related to the History of Russia
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Episodes
Episode 97 - You’re going up and I’m going down
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! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 13, 2025•26 min
Episode 96 - The Pugachevshchina
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.... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 23, 2025•26 min
Episode 95 - Variolation, Expansion and Rebellion
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...
Sep 17, 2025•33 min
Episode 94 - War, Plague and Peace
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...
Aug 12, 2025•28 min
Episode 93 - Three slices of Polish Pie
Battleships are at the ready in Cheshme Bay and Frederick the Great comes up with a very cunning plan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 27, 2025•30 min
Episode 92 - Billiards, Tennis or Infection?
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 04, 2025•27 min
Episode 91 - The last King of Poland
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the following - Exclusive membership of the Boyar Duma and a shout out on the Podcast Ad-free podcasts At least one members only episode per month General release episodes at leas...
Apr 26, 2025•23 min
Episode 90 - Poles Apart
On the home front Catherine continues to be thwarted. However, in the field of foreign diplomacy, she plays a blinder (or does she?) Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the following - Exclusive membership of the Boyar Duma and a shout out on the Podcast Ad-free podcasts At least one members only episode per month General release episodes at least 1 week earlier Transcripts for each episode (Patreon Only) Via Patreon https:...
Apr 01, 2025•25 min
Episode 89 - The Serfs and the Nakaz
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... Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the following - Exclusive membership of the Boyar Duma and a shout out on the Podcast Ad-free podcasts At least one members only episode per mon...
Feb 28, 2025•26 min
Episode 88 - The Khitrovo Affair and the Mirovich Plot
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the follo...
Jan 27, 2025•26 min
Episode 87 - Time belongs not to me but to the empire.
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.. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 31, 2024•27 min
Episode 86 - Zero Sum
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 Pennsylva...
Dec 02, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Episode 85 - ‘Colicgate’
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.... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 10, 2024•23 min
Episode 84 - State of the Nations (5) 1762
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast...
Oct 25, 2024•38 min
Episode 83 - Death in the afternoon
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 . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 18, 2024•26 min
Episode 82 - The New Empress of all the Russias - almost.....
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.... Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar D...
Sep 23, 2024•22 min
Episode 81 - The Empress is dead, long live the...
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a sm...
Aug 16, 2024•26 min
Episode 80 - A Fresh Start
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 07, 2024•21 min
Episode 79 - The Three Letters
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscript...
Jun 13, 2024•25 min
Episode 78 - Death, Madness and Banishment
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the following - E...
May 14, 2024•24 min
Episode 77 - Russia Attacks!
It's 1757 and for the first time in a long time the Russian army gets to flex its muscles. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the following - Exclusive membership of the Boyar Duma and a shout out on the Podcast Ad-free podcasts At least one members only episode per month General release episodes at least 1 week earlier Transcripts for each episode (Patreon Only) Via Patreon https://www.patreon.com/historyofrussia_boyardum...
Apr 22, 2024•29 min
Episode 76 - Perfidious Albion
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar...
Apr 15, 2024•28 min
Episode 75 - An Ambassador calls
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a ...
Mar 17, 2024•31 min
Episode 74 - In other news....
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? Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma whe...
Feb 18, 2024•25 min
Episode 73 - Treading Water
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... Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the following ...
Feb 11, 2024•24 min
Episode 72 - Controlled, Isolated and Miserable
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...
Dec 14, 2023•26 min
Episode 71 - Sophie becomes Catherine
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the follow...
Nov 22, 2023•23 min
Episode 70 - State of Empire, State of Mind
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the following - Exclusive membership of the Boyar Duma and a shout out on the Podcast Ad-free podcasts - (ads may come in on the free feed at some point in the futur...
Nov 08, 2023•22 min
Episode 69 - Peter and ... Sophie?
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. Click on one of the links below to join the Boyar Duma where for a small monthly subscription you'll receive the following - Exclusive memb...
Oct 08, 2023•28 min
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