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

Catherine the Great and the Volga Germans

In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore Catherine the Great's 1763 manifesto inviting German settlers to the Volga River region. They discuss the geopolitical motives behind the policy—populating the frontier, introducing agricultural expertise—and the religious promises that drew Mennonites, Lutherans, and Catholics from war-torn German states. The conversation covers the journey east, the establishment of over a hundred colonies, and the gradual erosion of the settlers' privileges under later tsars. Lucas highlights specific colonies like Katharinenstadt, the role of official 'recruiters' in Europe, and the long-term cultural legacy of the Volga Germans in Russia, including their survival through Soviet deportations. This episode fills a gap in the series by focusing on a distinct ethnic group within Catherine's empire, offering a fresh angle on her immigration policies. #CatherineTheGreat #VolgaGermans #RussianEmpire #Immigration #1763Manifesto #Mennonites #Lutherans #Katharinenstadt #Saratov #Samara #Colonization #Frontier #Privileges #CatherineTheGreat #FexingoHistory #History #18thCentury #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: The Partitions

In episode 97 of our Catherine the Great series, Lucas and Luna examine Russia's role in the partitions of Poland-Lithuania — the late-18th-century dismemberment that erased a sovereign state from the map. They explore how Catherine, Frederick the Great, and Maria Theresa carved up the Commonwealth in three stages (1772, 1793, 1795), the legal fictions used to justify the seizures, and the rebellion of Tadeusz Kościuszko in 1794. Lucas explains the liberum veto, the Confederation of Targowica, and why Catherine's former lover Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland, was forced to abdicate. The episode also reflects on the partitions' legacy for Polish national identity and Russia's westward expansion. A nuanced look at empire, sovereignty, and the cynical diplomacy that redrew Eastern Europe. #CatherineTheGreat #PartitionsOfPoland #PolishLithuanianCommonwealth #StanisławAugustPoniatowski #TadeuszKościuszko #FrederickTheGreat #MariaTheresa #ConfederationOfTargowica #LiberumVeto #RussianEmpire #18thCentury #EasternEurope #Diplomacy #Imperialism #KościuszkoUprising #History #FexingoHistory #Poland Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great's Serf Theater: The Sheremetev Fortress Players

In 18th-century Russia, a serf named Praskovya Kovalyova-Zhemchugova rose from peasant to prima donna of the most lavish private theater in the empire, owned by Count Nikolai Sheremetev. This episode explores the paradoxical world of serf theater under Catherine the Great, where aristocratic patrons created opulent performance companies from their own enslaved populations. We trace the Sheremetev estate's theater at Kuskovo and Ostankino, the training of serf actors in dance, music, and foreign languages, and the star-crossed love story between Count Sheremetev and Zhemchugova that eventually led to their secret marriage. Lucas and Luna discuss how serf theater reflected Catherine's Enlightenment ideals—patronage of the arts, Westernization—while resting on the brutal foundation of serfdom. They examine the legal status of serf performers, the few who gained freedom, and the thousands who remained property. This episode reveals the glittering, contradictory heart of Catherine's Russia: a stage where a serf could play a queen but never stop being a possession. #CatherineTheGreat #SerfTheater #Sheremetev #PraskovyaKovalyova #RussianHistory #18thCentury #Serfdom #Kuskovo #Ostankino #RussianTheater #Enlightenment #Aristocracy #Zhemchugova #CountSheremetev #FortressPlayers #EasternEurope #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Discovery of the Lomonosov Ridge

In 1764, as Catherine the Great consolidated power, an expedition led by Admiral Vasily Chichagov set out from Arkhangelsk with a secret imperial mandate: find a northern sea route to the Pacific. This episode digs into the science, politics, and sheer audacity of the Chichagov Expedition—its ships, the Novaya Zemlya ice pack, the role of Mikhail Lomonosov (who died just before it launched), and why Catherine personally backed it. We follow Chichagov's two attempts, his encounters with Inuit hunters in western Greenland, and the expedition's ultimate failure—and why that failure matters for 18th-century Arctic exploration. Along the way, we touch on the rival Dutch and British whalers, the brutal conditions aboard the three vessels (Chichagov, Panov, and Babayev), and how this forgotten voyage foreshadows later Russian Arctic ambitions. A story of hubris, science, and the imperial urge to map the unmappable. #ArcticExploration #CatherineTheGreat #MikhailLomonosov #VasilyChichagov #RussianEmpire #NovayaZemlya #BarentsSea #Greenland #18thCentury #AgeOfSail #ImperialScience #NorthwestPassage #Arkhangelsk #Inuit #LomonosovRidge #FexingoHistory #History #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Tatar Nobility: Integrating Crimea

After Russia annexed Crimea in 1783, Catherine the Great faced a delicate problem: how to integrate the Tatar Muslim nobility into the Russian imperial system. This episode explores the creation of the Tatar mirzas as a loyal service elite, the formation of the Tauride Muslim Spiritual Assembly, and the policies that allowed Tatar nobles to retain lands and status in exchange for loyalty. We discuss the role of Şahin Giray, the last Crimean khan, the Tatar deputation to St. Petersburg in 1784, and the symbolic use of the Tatar horse guard. The episode also touches on the limitations of integration—how Russian officials distrusted Tatar loyalties and how Catherine's policies foreshadowed later imperial dilemmas in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Featuring names like Grigory Potemkin, Şahin Giray, and Mehmed II Giray, this is a story of pragmatism, cultural negotiation, and the uneasy peace of empire. #CatherineTheGreat #Crimea #TatarNobility #RussianEmpire #ŞahinGiray #Potemkin #IslamInRussia #TaurideMuslimAssembly #Mirzas #CrimeanTatars #ImperialPolicy #18thCentury #EasternEurope #BlackSea #History #FexingoHistory #RussianHistory #EmpireBuilding Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]