Peter the Great's Beard Tax: Shaving Russia Into Europe

Peter the Great's Factory Revolution

This episode explores a little-known side of Peter the Great's modernization: his relentless push to build Russian industry from scratch. Lucas and Luna dive into the creation of the Ural mining and metallurgical complex under Vasily Tatishchev and Georg Wilhelm de Gennin, the founding of state-owned factories like the Nevyansk and Kamensk plants, and the forced labor systems that powered them. They discuss Peter's 1719 Berg Privilege, which encouraged private mining, and the role of Swedish prisoners of war in transferring technology. The conversation also examines the darker side of industrialization — serf and convict labor, environmental damage, and the paradox of a Westernizing tsar relying on authoritarian methods. A fresh angle for listeners who already know the beard tax and the navy. #PeterTheGreat #RussianEmpire #IndustrialRevolution #UralMountains #MiningHistory #Metallurgy #VasilyTatishchev #GeorgWilhelmDeGennin #BergPrivilege #Nevyansk #Kamensk #Serfdom #ForcedLabor #GreatNorthernWar #18thCentury #HistoryOfTechnology #EasternEurope #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Peter the Great's Academy of Sciences: Enlightenment in Russia

In 1724, Peter the Great founded the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Russia's first modern research institution. This episode explores the tsar's vision for a secular, European-style academy that would train Russian scholars and promote scientific inquiry. We discuss the influence of Leibniz and Wolff, the recruitment of foreign academics like Daniel Bernoulli and Leonhard Euler, the early challenges of attracting students, and the Academy's role in Peter's broader modernization agenda. The episode also touches on the Academy's first library and museum, the Kunstkamera, and how Peter's death in 1725 nearly derailed the project before it even began. Join Lucas and Luna as they uncover the origins of Russian science. #PeterTheGreat #StPetersburgAcademy #RussianScience #Enlightenment #LeonhardEuler #DanielBernoulli #Leibniz #Kunstkamera #18thCentury #HistoryOfScience #Russia #TsarPeter #AcademyOfSciences #Westernization #RussianHistory #Modernization #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Peter the Great's Kunstkamera: Russia's First Museum of Curiosities

In 1714, Peter the Great founded the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg — Russia's first museum, a cabinet of curiosities housing anatomical anomalies, preserved monsters, and exotic artifacts from around the world. This episode explores how the tsar used his collection to promote science, challenge superstition, and drag Russia into the Enlightenment. We meet the conjoined twins Fyodor and Ioann, the giant's skeleton Nicolas Bourgeois, and the living human exhibits Peter displayed. Learn about the museum's role in debunking myths of monsters and witches, its connection to the Academy of Sciences, and its survival through fires and revolution. A story of curiosity, power, and the birth of modern Russian science. #Kunstkamera #PeterTheGreat #RussianHistory #MuseumHistory #Anatomy #Curiosities #Enlightenment #StPetersburg #AcademyOfSciences #FyodorAndIoann #NicolasBourgeois #MythBusting #ScienceHistory #Embryology #Teratology #18thCentury #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Peter the Great's Death: The Autopsy That Shocked Russia

In January 1725, Peter the Great died at the age of 52 after a painful illness. His death was so unexpected that it threw Russia into a succession crisis. But the controversy didn't end there: Peter's physicians performed an autopsy — a rare and controversial act in Orthodox Russia — and the results were kept secret for centuries. This episode explores the final days of the tsar, the autopsy findings, and the rumors that swirled afterward. Did his doctors suspect poisoning? Why did the autopsy report vanish from the official record? We delve into the medical details, the political aftermath, and the enduring mystery surrounding the death of Russia's most transformative ruler. Along the way, we discuss the role of Dr. Johann Laurentius Blumentrost, the establishment of the Kunstkamera, and Peter's own fascination with anatomy — a passion that may have sealed his fate. #PeterTheGreat #RussianHistory #Autopsy #18thCentury #Kunstkamera #JohannLaurentiusBlumentrost #SuccessionCrisis #SaintPetersburg #Tsar #Romanov #Medicine #Anatomy #PoisonRumors #1725 #Russia #HistoryMystery #MedicalHistory #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Peter the Great: Building Saint Petersburg from the Swamp

In 1703, Peter the Great founded a new city on a swamp at the mouth of the Neva River. This episode follows the brutal construction of Saint Petersburg: the forced labor of tens of thousands of serfs, the role of Swedish prisoners of war, the engineering challenges of draining marshland, and the famine and disease that killed an estimated 100,000 workers. We explore the city's symbolic architecture—the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Twelve Collegia—and how Peter's 'window to the West' became a monument to autocratic will. Lucas and Luna discuss the human cost behind Russia's imperial capital and how the city reshaped Russian identity. No previous episode has focused on the city's founding itself, making this a fresh angle on Peter's modernization. #PeterTheGreat #SaintPetersburg #NevaRiver #PeterAndPaulFortress #RussianHistory #SwampBuilding #Serfdom #GreatNorthernWar #Admiralty #WindowToTheWest #18thCentury #UrbanPlanning #Autocracy #Famine #ForcedLabor #Kronstadt #EasternEurope #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]