Episodes
Catherine the Great and the Crimean Annexation
In 1783, Catherine the Great annexed the Crimean Khanate, a move that reshaped the Black Sea region and set the stage for centuries of conflict. This episode unpacks the diplomatic maneuvering, the role of Grigory Potemkin, the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, and the foundation of Sevastopol. We explore the 'Greek Project' and Catherine's famous journey to the south, separating myth from reality. The episode also looks at the broader implications for the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Russian naval…
The Decembrist Uprising: Russia's First Revolutionary Spark
In December 1825, a group of young Russian officers led thousands of troops onto Senate Square in St. Petersburg, refusing to swear allegiance to the new Tsar Nicholas I. Their rebellion lasted only a few hours before artillery fire scattered them, but its legacy stretched far beyond that winter day. This episode follows the Decembrists from their secret societies in the shadows of the Napoleonic Wars to the bloody suppression of the uprising, the interrogations that followed, and the exile…
The Bronze Horseman Rises: Falconet's Masterpiece
In 1782, a colossal equestrian statue of Peter the Great was unveiled on Senate Square in St. Petersburg. It was the work of French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet, who spent twelve years wrestling with a 1,500-ton granite boulder, a rebellious horse, and a thunderbolt from Catherine the Great. The monument, known as the Bronze Horseman, became a symbol of Russia's imperial ambition and a lightning rod for controversy. This episode tells the story of how it was built: the Thunder Stone's epic…
The Vlachs and the Birth of the Russian Empire
Before there was a Russian Empire, there was a tangled web of Slavic and Romance-speaking peoples on the eastern edges of Europe. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the Vlachs—descendants of Romanized Dacians and Thracians—and their surprising role in the rise of Moscow. From the Second Bulgarian Empire's Vlach dynasty to the migrations that shaped the Carpathians and the Balkans, we explore how a people without a state of their own influenced the imperial ambitions of both the Ottomans and…
The Bronze Age Collapse: Russia's Missing Millennium
In this episode of The Russian Empire: From Tsars to Revolution, hosts Lucas and Luna step back from the familiar tsars and revolutions to explore a mystery: Russia's missing millennium. Between the fall of the Scythians and the rise of the Rus, the vast steppe and forest zones of Eastern Europe saw waves of migration, trade, and conflict. Lucas tells the story of the Sarmatians, the Huns, the Khazars, and the Volga Bulgars — peoples who set the stage for what would become Russia. He reveals…
The Emancipation of the Serfs: Russia's Great Gamble
In 1861, Tsar Alexander II signed the Emancipation Edict, freeing over 23 million Russian serfs and ending centuries of feudal bondage. But what did freedom actually mean for the peasants? This episode untangles the complex machinery of serfdom, the debates that shaped the reform, and its unintended aftermath. We explore the lives of figures like Yuri Samarin and the Slavophiles, the 'liquidation commissions' that set redemption payments, and the rise of the 'village commune' — the mir. We…
The Old Believers: Russia's First Dissidents
In 1653, Patriarch Nikon of Moscow introduced reforms to Russian Orthodox liturgy that split the church and the nation. His changes — three fingers instead of two for the sign of the cross, spelling Jesus as 'Isus' instead of 'Iisus', and new rituals — were meant to bring Russian practice in line with Greek and Ukrainian traditions. But for millions of Russians, these were corruptions of the true faith. The result was the Raskol, the Great Schism, and the birth of the Old Believers, who faced…
The Bronze Horseman: Falconet's Monument to Peter the Great
In this episode of The Russian Empire: From Tsars to Revolution, Lucas and Luna explore the dramatic creation of the Bronze Horseman, the iconic equestrian statue of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg. They discuss how the French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet, despite never having made an equestrian statue, was chosen by Catherine the Great to immortalize her predecessor. The episode covers the engineering marvel of moving the Thunder Stone — a 1,500-ton boulder dragged across land and water…
The Decembrists' Wives: Love, Exile, and Siberia
In the frozen wake of the failed 1825 Decembrist revolt, a group of aristocratic women made a choice that shocked Russia: they abandoned palaces, titles, and comfort to follow their convicted husbands into Siberian exile. This episode tells the story of the Decembrists' wives — women like Maria Volkonskaya, Ekaterina Trubetskaya, and Alexandra Muravyova — who defied the Tsar's orders, traveled thousands of versts in winter carriages, and traded ballrooms for prison fortresses. Lucas and Luna…
The Russo-Japanese War: Russia's Surprising Defeat
In Episode 191 of The Russian Empire: From Tsars to Revolution, Lucas and Luna explore the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905—a conflict that shocked the world and exposed the fragility of Tsar Nicholas II's empire. Why did Russia, a European giant, lose to Japan, an emerging Asian power? The episode unpacks the strategic blunders of Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, whose Baltic Fleet sailed halfway around the globe only to be annihilated at Tsushima. It also dives into the brutal siege of Port…
The Cossacks: Russia's Warrior-Peasant Frontier
In this episode of The Russian Empire, Lucas and Luna step away from the tsars and the capitals to look at the men who defined Russia's southern frontier: the Cossacks. From their origins among runaway peasants and freebooters on the steppe, to their role as disciplined shock troops in the tsar's armies, the conversation traces how these warrior-communities became both a bulwark and a headache for the empire. They explore the self-governing host, or voysko, with its elected ataman and the…
The Great Game: Russia's Shadow War in Central Asia
In the 19th century, two empires—Britain and Russia—fought a silent, decades-long war for control of Central Asia. This episode follows the Russian advance from Orenburg to the gates of India, the forts of Kokand, Khiva, and Bukhara, and the British spies and surveyors who mapped the passes. We meet Nikolai Przhevalsky, the explorer whose expeditions doubled as intelligence missions, and Charles Stoddart and Arthur Conolly, the British officers whose disastrous mission to Bukhara ended in…
How the Trans-Siberian Railway Built Modern Russia
Before the Trans-Siberian Railway, crossing Russia took months by horse or river. In 1891, Sergei Witte convinced Alexander III to build the longest railway on Earth, a project that would stitch together an empire and set the stage for revolution. This episode follows the engineers, convicts, and financiers who pushed steel across Siberia — from the swampy foundations at Miass to the ice-floe crossings of the Amur River. We look at how the railway changed the lives of Siberian peasants, sparked…
The Salt Road: How the Stroganovs Built an Empire
Before they bankrolled Russia's conquest of Siberia, the Stroganov family grew staggeringly rich by monopolizing salt production along the Kama River. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the Stroganovs' rise from provincial merchants to tsar-adjacent oligarchs, exploring how salt — the medieval world's only reliable preservative — underpinned military campaigns, urban growth, and state power. They follow the family's expansion from Solvychegodsk to Perm, examine the brutal labor of the salt…
Imam Shamil and the Caucasus War: Russia's Mountain Nemesis
The Russian Empire's expansion into the Caucasus mountains sparked a brutal, decades-long guerrilla war. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise of Imam Shamil, the charismatic leader of the Chechen and Dagestani resistance. From the massacres of Russian garrisons to the epic siege of Akhulgo and Shamil's eventual surrender at Gunib in 1859, we trace the murid war that turned the Caucasus into a graveyard for tsarist armies. Learn about Shamil's theocratic state, his tactical…
The Pugachev Rebellion: Russia's Greatest Peasant Uprising
In 1773, Emelyan Pugachev, a Don Cossack, ignited the largest peasant revolt in Russian history by claiming to be the murdered Tsar Peter III. Rallying Cossacks, serfs, and Old Believers along the Volga and Ural rivers, his ragtag army besieged Orenburg and captured Kazan, threatening Catherine the Great's throne. This episode follows Pugachev's improbable rise, the brutal campaign of General Alexander Suvorov to crush the rebellion, and how the uprising's violence ended Catherine's flirtation…
1905 Russia's Revolutionary Dress Rehearsal
In January 1905, a peaceful march of workers and their families led by Father Georgy Gapon converged on the Winter Palace to petition Tsar Nicholas II for reforms. The imperial guard opened fire, killing hundreds and sparking a wave of strikes, mutinies, and uprisings that would become the 1905 Revolution. Lucas and Luna explore the Bloody Sunday massacre, the rise of the St. Petersburg Soviet led by the young Leon Trotsky, the Potemkin mutiny, and how Prime Minister Sergei Witte's October…
Barclay de Tolly The Scapegoat of 1812
In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Russia with the largest army Europe had ever seen. While history remembers Mikhail Kutuzov as the hero who saved Russia, this episode focuses on the forgotten commander who devised the strategy that actually defeated Napoleon: Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly. Born into a German-speaking family of Scottish descent, Barclay served as Alexander I's Minister of War and architect of the controversial 'scorched earth' retreat. His decision to avoid pitched battle…
Russia's Forgotten Colony: Alaska and the Russian-American Company
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Russia's little-known colonial venture in North America: the Russian-American Company and its century-long presence in Alaska. They trace the company's founding by Grigory Shelikhov and Ivan Golikov in 1799, examine the brutal fur trade that drove expansion across the Aleutian Islands and into Southeast Alaska, and delve into the leadership of Aleksandr Baranov, the 'Lord of Alaska' who built New Archangel (Sitka) and battled Tlingit resistance. Lucas…
The Fall of Tashkent 1865 Russia's Central Asian Conquest
In 1865, General Mikhail Chernayev led a tiny force of 1,900 men against the heavily fortified city of Tashkent, defended by 30,000 troops of the Kokand Khanate. This episode of The Russian Empire: From Tsars to Revolution dives into the audacious night assault that captured the city, the death of Kokand's ruler Alimqul, and the subsequent fallout that fueled the Great Game with Britain. We explore Chernayev's rogue tactics, the role of Ural Cossacks in the campaign, and how this conquest set…
Peter the Great's Grand Embassy: Russia's Window West
In 1697, Peter the Great embarked on an unprecedented journey: a diplomatic mission that doubled as a covert fact-finding tour of Europe. Traveling incognito as plain 'Peter Mikhailov', the tsar spent months learning shipbuilding in the Dutch village of Zaandam, hired hundreds of experts, and negotiated alliances against the Ottoman Empire. But when word arrived of a new Streltsy rebellion in Moscow, Peter cut his tour short, racing home to crush the revolt and begin his radical transformation…
Mikhail Speransky: The Reformer Who Shaped Modern Russia
In this episode, we explore the life and legacy of Mikhail Speransky, the brilliant advisor to Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I. Speransky drafted a constitution that would have limited autocracy, reformed the state administration, and later codified Russian law. We discuss his friendship with Alexander I, the conservative backlash led by Nikolai Karamzin, his exile to Siberia, and his eventual return as a trusted official under Nicholas I. This is the story of a man whose ideas quietly shaped…
The Decembrist Revolt: Russia's First Revolutionary Uprising
In December 1825, a group of aristocratic army officers led a failed uprising against the newly crowned Tsar Nicholas I in St. Petersburg. This episode explores the secret societies that plotted the revolt, the chaotic day on Senate Square, and the brutal aftermath — five executed and hundreds exiled to Siberia. We meet the key figures: Prince Sergei Trubetskoy, the reluctant leader; Pavel Pestel, the radical republican; Kondraty Ryleyev, the poet; and the mysterious Kakhovsky. We also discuss…
The Battle of Poltava How Peter the Great Changed Russia
In 1709, the fields of Poltava witnessed a battle that would reshape Eastern Europe. Sweden's King Charles XII, having invaded Russia, faced off against Tsar Peter the Great. Lucas and Luna explore the Great Northern War's most decisive clash: the Swedish siege of Poltava, Peter's reformed army, the betrayal of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, and the aftermath that launched Russia as a European power. Join them for the story of how a tsar's determination and a carefully prepared battlefield turned the tide…
The Time of Troubles: Russia's Fight for Survival
In 1610, Moscow was occupied by Polish forces and the Russian state seemed to have collapsed. The Time of Troubles, or Smuta, had begun two decades earlier with the death of Tsar Fyodor I, the last of the Rurikid dynasty. Famine, civil war, and impostors like the False Dmitry I tore the country apart. But from the city of Nizhny Novgorod, a merchant named Kuzma Minin and a prince named Dmitry Pozharsky organized a people's militia that marched to liberate Moscow. Their victory in 1612 led to…
Suzdal and the Rise of Moscow: The Forgotten Principality
Long before Moscow became the center of Russian power, the principality of Suzdal—and its successor Vladimir-Suzdal—played a crucial role in shaping the political and cultural landscape of medieval Rus. This episode explores how Suzdal rose as a rival to Kyiv, its alliance with the Mongol Golden Horde, and how its princes, especially Alexander Nevsky, laid the foundations for Moscow's eventual dominance. We delve into the career of Yuri Dolgorukiy, the founding of Moscow, the sack of Vladimir…
Aleksei Adashev: The Forgotten Reformer Behind Ivan the Terrible
Before the terror of the oprichnina, Ivan the Terrible relied on a trusted advisor who pushed for reform: Aleksei Adashev. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise and fall of the 'Chosen Council' (Izbrannaya Rada), a circle of moderate reformers that included the priest Sylvester, Metropolitan Macarius, and Prince Andrey Kurbsky. They shaped the 1550 Sudebnik law code, the Stoglav Church Council, and the creation of the streltsy musketeers. Adashev also championed the conquest of Kazan…
The Russo-Turkish War 1787-1792: Potemkin and Ochakov
In this episode, Lucas and Luna return to the reign of Catherine the Great to explore the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792, a conflict that cemented Russia's hold on the Black Sea and showcased the ambitions of Prince Grigory Potemkin. The conversation focuses on the siege of Ochakov, a critical Ottoman fortress at the mouth of the Dnieper, where Suvorov was wounded and Potemkin finally captured the stronghold after months of brutal winter warfare. We discuss Potemkin's 'Greek Project,' his…
Ivan the Terrible and the Oprichnina: Russia's Reign of Terror
In 1565, Tsar Ivan IV took the throne that would define him as 'the Terrible' — but that name, grozny, actually means 'awesome' or 'fearsome', not evil. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the dark heart of Ivan's rule: the Oprichnina, a state-within-a-state that unleashed a reign of terror against Russia's nobility. We follow the creation of the oprichniki, their black robes and wolf-head badges, the brutal sacking of Novgorod in 1570, and the mysterious death of Ivan's son and heir. Was…
The Streltsy: Russia's Musketeers and Peter the Great's Bloody Purge
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise and fall of the Streltsy, the elite musketeer corps that defended the Kremlin for over a century. They delve into the Streltsy's origins under Ivan the Terrible, their role in the Time of Troubles, and their growing political power during the regency of Sophia Alekseyevna. The conversation focuses on the 1698 Streltsy Uprising, which Peter the Great crushed with brutal force after returning from his Grand Embassy. Lucas recounts the mass…
The Mongol Yoke: How the Golden Horde Shaped Russia
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' and the subsequent two centuries of Mongol dominance, known as the 'Tatar Yoke.' They discuss the sack of Kyiv in 1240 by Batu Khan, the establishment of the Golden Horde, and how Mongol rule reshaped Russian political structures, economy, and culture. Lucas explains the system of tribute and the yarlyk (patent for rule), the role of Alexander Nevsky in collaborating with the Mongols, and the long-term effects including…
The Russo-Japanese War: Russia's Naval Nightmare at Tsushima
In May 1905, the Russian Baltic Fleet — after a seven-month, 18,000-mile voyage around Africa and Asia — was annihilated by the Japanese Imperial Navy in the Tsushima Strait. This episode dives into the nearly suicidal mission of Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, the strategic blunders at the Battle of Tsushima, and how the shocking defeat exposed the rot at the heart of the Romanov autocracy. We explore the decision to send the Baltic Fleet to the Pacific after the fall of Port Arthur, the chaotic…
The Emancipation of the Serfs: Alexander II's Great Reform
In 1861, Tsar Alexander II emancipated over 23 million serfs in the Russian Empire, a reform that reshaped the country's social and economic landscape. This episode explores the man behind the reform—the Tsar-Liberator—and the complex motivations, compromises, and consequences of freeing Russia's serfs. We discuss the role of the Crimean War as a catalyst, the drafting of the Emancipation Statute, the redemption payments that burdened peasants, and the paradoxical fact that the reform created a…
The Siege of Sevastopol: Crimean War's Bloodiest Chapter
In this episode, Lucas and Luna delve into the epic Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War (1854–1855), a turning point that exposed the Russian Empire's military weaknesses and set the stage for reform. They explore the key figures like Vice Admiral Vladimir Kornilov, who famously declared 'We have nowhere to retreat — behind us is the sea,' and the engineer Eduard Totleben, whose improvised fortifications stunned the Allies. The conversation covers the tactical innovations — trench…
The Russian Empire's Old Believers: Faith, Fire, and Exile
In this episode of The Russian Empire: From Tsars to Revolution, Lucas and Luna explore the story of the Old Believers — the conservative Orthodox Christians who split from the official church after Patriarch Nikon's 17th-century reforms. They refused to accept the new liturgy, the three-fingered sign of the cross, and other changes, leading to persecution, mass self-immolations, and centuries of exile. Lucas walks through the key figure of Avvakum Petrov, the fiery archpriest who led the…
The Time Russia Almost Conquered India: Paul I's Mad Plan
In 1801, Tsar Paul I — son of Catherine the Great, father of Alexander I — launched one of the most bizarre military expeditions in Russian history: a joint Franco-Russian invasion of British India. 22,000 Don Cossacks were ordered to march across Central Asia in winter, with no maps, no supply lines, and no idea what they were getting into. This episode follows the doomed Indian March of 1801 — the geopolitical dreaming that inspired it, the brutal reality of the trek, and how Paul's…
The Cossacks: Russia's Warrior Frontier
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the world of the Cossacks—the fiercely independent warrior communities that shaped Russia's southern frontiers. They trace the origins of the Zaporozhian Sich and the Don Cossack host, examining how these military brotherhoods combined steppe nomad traditions with Slavic settlement. The conversation highlights key figures like Yermak Timofeyevich, whose conquest of Siberia opened a vast new territory for Russia, and Stenka Razin, the rebel leader who…
The Cossacks: Russia's Warrior Frontier
This episode of The Russian Empire: From Tsars to Revolution explores the Cossacks — not as a uniform group, but as a collection of autonomous warrior communities who shaped Russia's southern and eastern frontiers for centuries. Lucas and Luna trace their origins from runaway serfs and Tatar mercenaries in the 15th century to their role as tsarist border guards and cavalry shock troops. They examine the Zaporozhian Sich on the Dnieper River, the Don and Kuban Cossack hosts, and the paradox of…
The Russo-Turkish War 1828-1829: Russia's Danube Victory
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, a conflict often overshadowed by later Balkan campaigns but crucial for Russian expansion in the Caucasus and the Danube principalities. They focus on the siege of Varna, the role of the Russian fleet under Alexei Greig, and the daring winter crossing of the Balkan Mountains by General Ivan Diebitsch, which forced the Ottoman surrender at Adrianople. The episode also covers the Treaty of Adrianople, which granted Russia…
The 1812 Fire of Moscow: Scorched Earth or Sabotage
In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte marched into Moscow expecting victory, but found a city engulfed in flames. This episode examines the Great Fire of Moscow—its causes, its consequences, and the enduring debate over who ordered it. We explore Napoleon's bewildered reaction as his prize turned to ash, the conflicting accounts from Russian and French witnesses, and how the fire reshaped the Napoleonic Wars. Was it a deliberate scorched-earth tactic ordered by Governor Fyodor Rostopchin, an accidental…
The Novgorod Republic: Russia's Medieval Trading Democracy
Long before the tsars, a different kind of Russia thrived in the north — the Novgorod Republic. For over three centuries, Novgorod was a sprawling mercantile state stretching from the Baltic to the Urals, governed not by a prince but by an assembly of citizens, the veche, which elected its own prince and even the city's archbishop. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Novgorod became a key node in the Hanseatic League, trading furs, wax, and honey for silver and cloth. They trace the…
The Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878: Russia's Balkan Gamble
In this episode, Lucas and Luna delve into the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, a conflict that reshaped the Balkans and nearly brought Russia to the gates of Constantinople. They explore the brutal siege of Pleven, where Russian and Romanian forces faced fierce Ottoman resistance under Osman Pasha. The conversation covers the heroic defense of Shipka Pass by Bulgarian volunteers, the controversial figure of General Mikhail Skobelev, and the diplomatic fallout at the Congress of Berlin. They…
The Time Russia Invaded Alaska: The Russian-American Company
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the little-known story of Russia's colonial venture in North America: the Russian-American Company. From the first voyages of Vitus Bering and Aleksei Chirikov in 1741 to the establishment of settlements in Alaska and California, we trace how fur traders, promyshlenniki, and managers like Aleksandr Baranov built a Russian presence across the Pacific. Learn about the brutal exploitation of Aleut and Tlingit peoples, the founding of Fort Ross in 1812, the…
The Decembrist Revolt: Russia's First Revolutionaries
In December 1825, a group of young Russian officers led 3,000 soldiers onto Senate Square in St. Petersburg, demanding a constitution and the end of serfdom. This was the Decembrist Revolt — the first open challenge to autocracy in Imperial Russia. Lucas and Luna explore the aristocratic conspirators of the Northern and Southern Societies, their secret programmes like Pestel's 'Russkaya Pravda' and Muravyov's draft constitution, the chaotic day of the uprising when troops chanted 'Constantine…
The Grand Embassy: Peter the Great's Secret Journey West
In 1697, Tsar Peter I of Russia embarked on an unprecedented journey: an incognito tour of Western Europe that would reshape his empire. Traveling as 'Peter Mikhailov,' a carpenter and soldier, he visited shipyards in the Netherlands, studied anatomy in Leiden, toured England's Royal Navy, and hired hundreds of experts to modernize Russia. This episode explores the Grand Embassy's secret mission, Peter's hands-on learning, the diplomatic blunders that nearly derailed it, and how the trip…
The Russo-Turkish War 1768-1774: Russia's Mediterranean Gambit
Before the 1877-78 war covered in Episode 151, Russia fought a decisive conflict against the Ottoman Empire that gave it a foothold on the Black Sea and a claim to protect Orthodox Christians. This episode focuses on the war of 1768-1774 under Catherine the Great, featuring the dramatic naval expedition of the Baltic Fleet to the Mediterranean, the Battle of Chesma where Russian fireships destroyed the Ottoman fleet, and the landmark Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca. We discuss the roles of Alexei…
The Russian Empire's 1863 January Uprising: Poland's Last Stand
In this episode of The Russian Empire: From Tsars to Revolution, Lucas and Luna explore the 1863 January Uprising — Poland's last major insurrection against Russian rule before the 20th century. They discuss the brutal repression under Tsar Alexander II, the role of the 'Red' and 'White' factions among Polish nationalists, the fate of leaders like Romuald Traugutt and Jarosław Dąbrowski, and the uprising's aftermath: the thorough Russification of Congress Poland, the abolition of the Polish…
The Great Game in Central Asia: Russia vs. Britain's Shadow War
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 19th-century rivalry between the Russian Empire and British India known as the Great Game. They focus on the strategic importance of the Khanates of Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand, the daring exploits of Russian officers like Nikolai Przhevalsky and Mikhail Skobelev, and the diplomatic maneuvering that nearly brought the two empires to war. The conversation covers the fall of Geok Tepe, the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, and the lasting impact on…
The Bessarabian Question: Russia's Balkan Frontier
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the complex history of Bessarabia, a contested borderland between the Russian and Ottoman empires. They discuss its annexation by Russia in 1812, the mixed population of Moldavians, Ukrainians, Jews, and Gagauz, and the region's role as a flashpoint in the 19th-century Eastern Question. The conversation covers the 1856 Treaty of Paris that stripped Russia of southern Bessarabia, the 1878 Congress of Berlin that returned it, and the cultural and political…
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878: Russia's Balkan Gamble
This episode dives into the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, a conflict that reshaped the Balkans and nearly brought Russia to Constantinople. Lucas and Luna explore the diplomatic prelude—the 1875 Herzegovina uprising and the Constantinople Conference—then follow the Russian campaign across the Danube and over the Balkan Mountains. They discuss the crucial Siege of Pleven, where Ottoman commander Osman Pasha held out for five months, and the decisive Shipka Pass battle led by generals Iosif…
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