Russian History Explained

About Russian History Explained

Welcome to Russian History Explained, your ultimate guide to the vast and complex history of Russia. From the early medieval Kievan Rus and the rise of the powerful Tsars to the dramatic Soviet era and modern historical milestones, we explore the stories, figures, and events that shaped the world's largest nation. Through engaging narratives and rich archival visuals, we bring key historical turning points to life, exploring politics, culture, and epic conflicts. Join us as we uncover the mysteries of the Russian past.

Publisher

Russian History Explained

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Jun 2026

Latest episode

17 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

50 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Sept 2026

   Why Russian High Society Spoke French for More Than a Century

   French culture and language dominated imperial Russian high society for more than a century, shaping aristocratic salons, education, fashion, diplomacy, literature, architecture, and the daily identity of nobles in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. This Francophile world both refined and divided the empire before revolution. The episode remains central to Russian history, imperial memory, and debates over power today.This video follows Peter the Great's Westernization, Empress Elizabeth's Versailles-inspired court, Catherine the Great's correspondence with Voltaire and Diderot, French tutors, governesses, theaters, fashion journals, émigrés after the French Revolution, Jesuit colleges, Odessa under Richelieu, and the bilingual world of Russian aristocracy. It also explores Napoleon's invasion, the patriotic reaction against French speech, Pushkin and Tolstoy's use of French, ballet and architecture, French loanwords in Russian, the 1917 collapse of noble society, the Russian emigration in Paris, and the lasting cultural bridge between Saint Petersburg and France. The story shows how imitation, rivalry, and creativity shaped imperial Russian identity.#frenchculture #imperialrussia #russianhistory #saintpetersburg #catherinethegreat #russianaristocracy #francophilia #tolstoy

2. 

   17 Sept 2026

   Why the Romanov Tercentenary Became the Last Great Imperial Celebration

   The Romanov Tercentenary of 1913 was a dazzling celebration of three hundred years of dynasty, yet beneath its pageantry lay hemophilia, Rasputin, political fragility, war anxiety, and an empire nearing collapse. Its splendor now reads like the twilight of imperial Russia before revolution. The episode remains central to Russian history, imperial memory, and debates over power today.This video follows the election of Mikhail Romanov in 1613, Nicholas II's sacred vision of autocracy, Alexandra and the imperial children, Alexei's hidden illness, Ivan Susanin propaganda, illuminated Saint Petersburg, medals, coins, amnesties, religious processions, Moscow and Kostroma ceremonies, the Romanov Tercentenary Egg, and the planned monument on the Volga. It also traces the tension with Rasputin, the coming World War, Nicholas's command decision, ministerial chaos, Rasputin's murder, the February Revolution, abdication in March 1917, the Ipatiev House execution, and the haunting symmetry of the dynasty's end. The jubilee became the final grand performance of a monarchy already losing its future.#romanovs #romanovtercentenary #nicholasii #russianhistory #rasputin #russianempire #faberge #revolution

3. 

   17 Sept 2026

   The 1905 Revolution: The First Storm Against Russia's Last Tsar

   The 1905 Russian Revolution began with Bloody Sunday, when peaceful workers carrying icons and petitions marched toward the Winter Palace and were met by imperial gunfire across the snow of Saint Petersburg. The massacre broke the sacred image of the caring tsar and exposed autocracy. The episode remains central to Russian history, imperial memory, and debates over power today.This video follows industrial misery, the Russo-Japanese War, Okhrana police socialism, Father Georgy Gapon, the Putilov strike, the workers' petition, the January 22 march, the shootings near Narva Gate and Palace Square, and the collapse of the sacred bond between tsar and people. It also covers nationwide strikes, peasant unrest, the Potemkin mutiny, the Moscow uprising, Sergei Witte, the October Manifesto, the State Duma, repression after reform, and the memorials that preserve the first great revolutionary crisis of Nicholas II's reign. The events revealed how workers, soldiers, peasants, and liberals could shake autocracy together.#russianrevolution1905 #bloodysunday #russianhistory #nicholasii #romanovs #winterpalace #gapon #revolution

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Spotify

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