Catherine the Great's Instruction and the Enlightenment's Limits

Catherine the Great and the Creation of the Hermitage Museum

In this episode of Catherine the Great: Russia's Most Powerful Empress, Lucas and Luna explore the empress's transformation of the Winter Palace into one of the world's greatest art collections: the Hermitage. They discuss her early acquisitions from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky, the purchase of the collections of Pierre Crozat and Sir Robert Walpole, and the construction of the Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, and Hermitage Theatre by architects Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe and Yury Felten. Lucas explains how Catherine's collecting was not just personal pleasure but a tool of cultural statecraft—a way to assert Russia's place as a European power. They also touch on the Hermitage's famously secretive early access policies and the legendary 'Hermitage cats' that still guard the museum today. The episode weaves together art history, imperial ambition, and the personal tastes of an enlightened despot who amassed over 4,000 paintings during her reign. #CatherineTheGreat #HermitageMuseum #WinterPalace #RussianArt #JohannErnstGotzkowsky #PierreCrozat #RobertWalpole #JeanBaptisteVallinDeLaMothe #YuryFelten #SmallHermitage #OldHermitage #HermitageTheatre #CatherineTheGreatArtCollector #EnlightenedDespot #18thCenturyArt #RussianHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Russian Serfs: The Peasant Question

Catherine the Great is remembered as an enlightened despot, but her reign saw the worst expansion of serfdom in Russian history. This episode explores the paradox: how did a monarch who corresponded with Voltaire and dreamed of abolishing torture end up giving away hundreds of thousands of state peasants to her favorites? Lucas and Luna examine the 1767 decree that forbade serfs from complaining about their masters, the scale of the 1775 provincial reform that strengthened noble control, and the crushing of the Pugachev Rebellion — a massive peasant uprising that made Catherine cling even tighter to the nobility. They discuss figures like Alexander Radishchev, whose 'Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow' got him exiled to Siberia, and the little-known 'Peasant Question' that haunted Russian politics for a century. What did Catherine really think about serfdom? Could she have freed them? No simple answers, but a clear-eyed look at the limits of Enlightenment in an empire built on unfree labor. #CatherineTheGreat #RussianHistory #Serfdom #PeasantQuestion #PugachevRebellion #AlexanderRadishchev #Enlightenment #RussianEmpire #18thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope #ImperialRussia #StatePeasants #LandlordPeasants #1767Decree #KrestyanskayaVoina #SiberiaExile Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Founding of the Russian Academy

Episode 90 of our Catherine the Great series explores the founding of the Russian Academy in 1783. We follow the story of Princess Ekaterina Dashkova, the first woman to lead a national academy of sciences, as she takes the helm of the Russian Academy. Lucas and Luna discuss how Dashkova commissioned the first comprehensive dictionary of the Russian language, the Slovar Akademii Rossiyskoy, a six-volume work that standardized and defined over 43,000 words. We delve into the rivalry between Dashkova and the older Imperial Academy of Sciences, the tension between innovation and tradition, and the cultural awakening of Russia under Catherine. Dashkova's own memoirs, written in later years, provide a vivid portrait of the era. This episode covers the establishment of the Academy, its goals of promoting Russian language and literature, and its legacy in the context of Catherine's broader project of Europeanizing Russia while asserting its unique identity. We also touch on Dashkova's fascinating life: her role in Catherine's coup, her exile, and her eventual return to favor. A story of intellectual ambition and the power of words. #CatherineTheGreat #RussianAcademy #EkaterinaDashkova #SlovarAkademiiRossiyskoy #RussianDictionary #18thCentury #RussianHistory #ImperialRussia #PrincessDashkova #LanguageStandardization #EnlightenmentRussia #WomenInScience #RussianLanguage #SaintPetersburg #FexingoHistory #History #EasternEurope #CulturalHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great’s Naval Ambitions: The Black Sea Fleet and the Greek Project

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Catherine the Great’s ambitious Greek Project, the dream of restoring the Byzantine Empire under Russian control. They discuss the founding of the Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol, the strategic importance of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, the role of Grigory Potemkin as viceroy of Novorossiya, and the naming of Catherine’s second grandson Constantine Pavlovich with the Byzantine restoration in mind. The conversation covers the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774), the annexation of Crimea (1783), the military campaigns of Alexei Orlov and Samuel Greig, and the naval battles of Chesma and Sinop. They also touch on the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 and the failure of the Greek Project after Potemkin’s death. A nuanced look at Catherine’s imperial vision, the limits of Russian naval power, and the enduring legacy of the Eastern Question. #CatherineTheGreat #GreekProject #BlackSeaFleet #RussianEmpire #Sevastopol #GrigoryPotemkin #Novorossiya #EasternQuestion #RussoTurkishWar #TreatyOfKuchukKaynarca #Crimea #ConstantinePavlovich #NavalHistory #AlexeiOrlov #SamuelGreig #Byzantine #18thCentury #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great's Medical Reforms Smallpox Inoculation

Before vaccines, smallpox ravaged 18th-century Russia, killing one in seven infants. Catherine the Great took a dramatic step: she herself underwent inoculation, then championed a nationwide campaign. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the empress's 1768 inoculation by English doctor Thomas Dimsdale, the role of Count Grigory Orlov, the founding of the Smallpox Hospital in St. Petersburg, and the resistance from the Russian Orthodox Church and public fear. They compare Catherine's approach to that of other European monarchs and discuss the legacy of her medical reforms in the context of Enlightenment ideas about public health and governance. The conversation also touches on the broader impact of smallpox on Russian society, the spread of inoculation across the empire, and the tension between tradition and progress in Catherine's Russia. #CatherineTheGreat #SmallpoxInoculation #ThomasDimsdale #GrigoryOrlov #RussianHistory #18thCenturyMedicine #Enlightenment #PublicHealth #SmallpoxHospital #RussianOrthodoxChurch #Inoculation #Variolation #EmpressCatherine #StPetersburg #HistoryOfMedicine #RussianEmpire #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]