Episodi

  • Peter the Great's Secret Son: The Tsarevich Alexei Tragedy — Fexingo History

    Peter the Great's Secret Son: The Tsarevich Alexei Tragedy — Fexingo History
    Apr 26 2026
    In this episode of Peter the Great: The Tsar Who Modernized Russia, Lucas and Luna explore the tragic story of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, Peter's eldest son and heir. While Peter dragged Russia into modernity, Alexei clung to the old ways, becoming a focal point for conservative opposition. The episode traces Alexei's flight to Vienna, his secret alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor, and his eventual return to Moscow under a promise of pardon. We dig into the brutal investigation led by Peter's trusted lieutenant, Peter Tolstoy, the torture sessions that extracted confessions of treason, and the mysterious death of Alexei in the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1718. Lucas highlights the clash between father and son as a microcosm of Russia's struggle between tradition and reform, and examines the legal innovation of the 1722 Law of Succession, which allowed the tsar to choose his own heir. The episode ends with the chilling legacy of this dynastic crisis—how it set a precedent for imperial succession that would haunt Russia for centuries.

    #PeterTheGreat #TsarevichAlexei #RussianHistory #DynasticCrisis #PeterAndPaulFortress #LawOfSuccession #PeterTolstoy #Vienna #HolyRomanEmpire #EFrolova #Torture #Treason #18thCentury #Romanovs #StPetersburg #Russia #History #FexingoHistory #RussianEmpire #RomanovDynasty

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    7 min
  • Peter the Great's Navy: Russia's Baltic Fleet — Fexingo History

    Peter the Great's Navy: Russia's Baltic Fleet — Fexingo History
    Apr 25 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Peter the Great's relentless drive to build a Russian navy from scratch. They discuss how Peter, after the Azov campaigns, realized Russia needed a modern fleet to challenge Sweden and secure the Baltic. The conversation covers the construction of the Voronezh shipyards, the establishment of the Admiralty in St. Petersburg, the recruitment of foreign experts like Cornelius Cruys, and the disastrous Pruth River Campaign of 1711. They examine the navy's role in the Great Northern War, from the Battle of Gangut in 1714 to the treaty of Nystad. Lucas explains the harsh life of sailors and the ingenious use of galleys. The episode captures Peter's vision and the immense human cost, ending on a reflective note about the legacy of Russia's maritime power.

    #PeterTheGreat #RussianNavy #BalticFleet #GreatNorthernWar #BattleOfGangut #CorneliusCruys #Voronezh #Admiralty #PruthRiverCampaign #AzovCampaigns #TsarPeter #GalleyFleet #NystadTreaty #Shipbuilding #StPetersburg #RussianHistory #History #FexingoHistory #RussianEmpire #RomanovDynasty

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    5 min
  • Peter the Great and the Great Northern War: Victory at Poltava — Fexingo History

    Peter the Great and the Great Northern War: Victory at Poltava — Fexingo History
    Apr 25 2026
    In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna dive into the Great Northern War, the defining conflict of Peter the Great's reign. They explore how a young, ambitious tsar took on the formidable Swedish Empire under Charles XII, a military genius. Lucas details the humiliating defeat at Narva in 1700, Peter's subsequent reforms to rebuild the Russian army, and the strategic use of scorched earth tactics. The climax comes at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, where Peter's new-model army crushed the Swedes, capturing many and forcing Charles XII into exile. The conversation also covers Peter's controversial alliance with the Cossack hetman Ivan Mazepa, who switched sides, and the complex peace negotiations that finally gave Russia a window to the Baltic. Luna asks sharp questions about the scale of the war, Peter's personal courage, and the cost in lives. The episode ends with a reflection on how Poltava transformed Russia into a European power, setting the stage for St. Petersburg's rise.

    #GreatNorthernWar #Poltava #PeterTheGreat #CharlesXII #SwedishEmpire #RussianEmpire #BattleOfNarva #IvanMazepa #Cossacks #ScorchedEarth #RussianArmy #BalticSea #EighteenthCentury #MilitaryHistory #Tsar #Reforms #History #FexingoHistory #RomanovDynasty #TsarReformer

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    7 min
  • Peter the Great's Beard Tax and Cultural Revolution — Fexingo History

    Peter the Great's Beard Tax and Cultural Revolution — Fexingo History
    Apr 25 2026
    In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore Peter the Great's controversial campaign to Westernize Russian society, focusing on the infamous beard tax of 1698. They discuss how Peter enforced clean-shaven faces among nobles, the symbolic resistance of Old Believers, the token system for those who paid the tax, and the deeper cultural clash between traditional Muscovite values and European modernity. Learn about the role of the Preobrazhensky Regiment in enforcing these laws, the impact on Russian identity, and how Peter's cultural reforms paved the way for Russia's emergence as a European power. The episode also touches on the Table of Ranks and the role of the Orthodox Church in resisting change, offering a nuanced look at one of history's most unusual taxes.

    #PeterTheGreat #BeardTax #RussianHistory #Westernization #CulturalRevolution #OldBelievers #PreobrazhenskyRegiment #TableOfRanks #OrthodoxChurch #Modernization #18thCentury #Tsar #Russia #Europeanization #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast #HistoricalTaxes #RussianEmpire #RomanovDynasty

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    6 min
  • Peter the Great's Window to the West: Building St. Petersburg — Fexingo History

    Peter the Great's Window to the West: Building St. Petersburg — Fexingo History
    Apr 25 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the audacious construction of St. Petersburg, Peter the Great's 'paradise' and his window to the West. They delve into the swampy, mosquito-infested Neva delta where the city was built, the forced labor of hundreds of thousands of serfs and Swedish prisoners of war, and the staggering human cost—estimates range from 30,000 to 100,000 deaths. Lucas explains how Peter personally drove the project, from designing the fortress to mandating stone construction across Russia to supply the new capital. They discuss the symbolic architecture, including the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and how the city embodied Peter's vision of a modern, secular Russia. The episode also touches on the 1703 founding date, the first buildings, and the early struggles against floods and disease. Luna asks about the reaction of the boyars and ordinary Russians, and Lucas paints a picture of a city born from sheer imperial will—a monument to Peter's relentless drive to transform Russia.

    #StPetersburg #PeterTheGreat #RussianHistory #NevaDelta #1703 #PeterAndPaulFortress #AlexanderNevskyLavra #ForcedLabor #Serfdom #UrbanPlanning #Architecture #18thCentury #SwedishPrisoners #WindowToTheWest #Tsar #ImperialRussia #History #FexingoHistory #RussianEmpire #RomanovDynasty

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    9 min
  • Peter the Great's Table of Ranks: A Social Revolution — Fexingo History

    Peter the Great's Table of Ranks: A Social Revolution — Fexingo History
    Apr 24 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into one of Peter the Great's most transformative reforms: the Table of Ranks of 1722. They explore how Peter abolished the traditional Muscovite hierarchy based on birth and replaced it with a system where service to the state—in military, civil, or court roles—determined status. The conversation covers the fourteen ranks, the concept of meritocracy, and how even a commoner could rise to nobility. They discuss the impact on old boyar families like the Golitsyns and the Romanovs themselves, the creation of a new service elite called the dvorianstvo, and the daily life of a rank-holder. The episode also touches on Peter's other administrative reforms, including the creation of the Senate and the Collegia, and the controversial poll tax. Listeners learn how the Table of Ranks shaped Russian society for nearly two centuries, until its abolition in 1917, and how it influenced social mobility, education, and even literature—with figures like Alexander Pushkin's ancestor gaining status through service. The episode ends with a reflection on the tension between Peter's meritocratic ideals and the reality of autocracy.

    #PeterTheGreat #TableOfRanks #RussianHistory #Meritocracy #Dvorianstvo #Boyars #1722 #Senate #Collegia #PollTax #EasternEurope #FexingoHistory #SocialMobility #Autocracy #ServiceState #Golitsyn #Pushkin #History #RussianEmpire #RomanovDynasty

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    9 min
  • Peter the Great's Secret War: The Streltsy Uprising of 1698 — Fexingo History

    Peter the Great's Secret War: The Streltsy Uprising of 1698 — Fexingo History
    Apr 23 2026
    Fresh from his Grand Embassy to Europe, Peter the Great returned to Moscow in 1698 to find his own elite guards, the Streltsy, in open rebellion. This episode dives into the brutal crackdown that followed—the mass executions at Preobrazhenskoye, the systematic dismantling of Russia's old military order, and the personal role of the Tsar himself as executioner. We explore the Streltsy's grievances: their resentment of foreign officers, lost privileges, and the rumors that Peter was not the true tsar. We also examine the political context—how Peter's half-sister Sophia Alekseyevna was implicated, the torture interrogations that extracted confessions, and the lasting impact on Russian state-building. Through this dark chapter, we see Peter's ruthless determination to crush any opposition to his modernizing vision, setting the stage for the creation of a new Russian army and the founding of St. Petersburg.

    #PeterTheGreat #Streltsy #RussianHistory #1698 #Preobrazhenskoye #SophiaAlekseyevna #MilitaryReform #Tsardom #Execution #Rebellion #GrandEmbassy #Moscow #Boyars #LevFort #History #FexingoHistory #Russia #EasternEurope #RussianEmpire #RomanovDynasty

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    6 min
  • Peter the Great: The Tsar Who Forged a New Russia — Fexingo History

    Peter the Great: The Tsar Who Forged a New Russia — Fexingo History
    Apr 23 2026
    In this pilot episode, we meet the towering figure of Peter the Great as he storms into history—literally. We begin at the Kremlin in 1682, with a ten-year-old boy hiding from the chaos of the Streltsy Uprising. That boy, Peter, would grow into a six-foot-seven tsar who dragged Russia out of its medieval past and into the modern world, often by force. We explore the grand embassy that sent him west to learn shipbuilding and science in disguise, the building of St. Petersburg from a swamp at the cost of tens of thousands of lives, and the brutal reforms that reshaped the army, the church, and the nobility. Lucas and Luna discuss how Peter's personal curiosity—his love for ships, tools, and anatomy—drove a national transformation. They also reckon with the dark side: the torture of his own son, the crushing of dissent, and the serfdom that underwrote it all. This episode sets the stage for a series that will dive into the wars, the architecture, the court intrigues, and the legacy of a tsar who was both a visionary and a tyrant. From the Baltic to the Caspian, from the axe to the telescope, Peter's Russia was born in blood and ambition.

    #PeterTheGreat #RussianHistory #Tsar #StPetersburg #GreatNorthernWar #Modernization #Westernization #Streltsy #Azov #GrandEmbassy #Shipbuilding #Poltava #RussianEmpire #18thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope #Absolutism #RomanovDynasty #TsarReformer

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    7 min