The Russian Revolution: How the Tsars Lost Everything — Fexingo History

The Latvian Riflemen: Lenin's Shock Troops

7 min · 11 jul 2026
aflevering The Latvian Riflemen: Lenin's Shock Troops artwork

Beschrijving

Before the Red Army had a unified command, Lenin relied on a single, fiercely loyal unit: the Latvian Riflemen. Originally formed by the Tsarist army to fight the Germans, these six regiments from the Baltic provinces became the Bolsheviks' most trusted force. They guarded the Kremlin, suppressed the Left SR uprising in July 1918, and fought on every major front of the Civil War—from Kazan to the Donbass. Their commander, Jukums Vācietis, was the first Soviet commander-in-chief, and his successor, Sergey Kamenev (not the Bolshevik politician), kept the Riflemen at the center of operations. Yet by 1920, their political reliability became a liability: Lenin feared a 'Latvian Bonaparte,' and the unit was slowly disbanded. This episode traces their journey from imperial cannon fodder to revolutionary elite, and asks whether they were heroes of the Revolution or instruments of terror. We also explore the strange fate of Vācietis, who survived the Cheka's prisons only to die in Stalin's purges. #LatvianRiflemen #JukumsVācietis #SergeyKamenev #RussianCivilWar #KremlinGuard #Cheka #RevolutionaryTerror #LeftSRUprising #Kazan #Donbass #Siberia #Latvia #Bolsheviks #Lenin #EasternEurope #History #FexingoHistory #RedArmy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Reacties

0

Wees de eerste die een reactie plaatst

Meld je nu aan en word lid van de The Russian Revolution: How the Tsars Lost Everything — Fexingo History community!

Probeer gratis

Probeer 14 dagen gratis

€ 9,99 / maand na proefperiode. · Elk moment opzegbaar.

  • Podcasts die je alleen op Podimo hoort
  • 20 uur luisterboeken / maand
  • Gratis podcasts

Alle afleveringen

160 afleveringen

aflevering The Tambov Rebellion: Peasants vs the Bolshevik State artwork

The Tambov Rebellion: Peasants vs the Bolshevik State

In 1920, as the Russian Civil War wound down, a new uprising erupted in the fertile black earth region of Tambov province. Peasants who had supported the Bolsheviks against the Whites now turned their guns on the Red Army, protesting forced grain requisitions and collectivisation. Led by Alexander Antonov, a former Socialist Revolutionary, the Tambov Rebellion grew into a full-scale peasant war, with over 50,000 fighters organised into a Green Army. The Bolshevik response was brutal: Mikhail Tukhachevsky, fresh from crushing Kronstadt, was dispatched with chemical weapons, concentration camps, and a scorched-earth policy. The uprising was crushed by 1922, but its memory haunted Soviet agricultural policy and foreshadowed the horrors of dekulakisation. This episode explores the causes, key figures, and savage suppression of the Antonovshchina—the largest peasant revolt against early Soviet power. #TambovRebellion #Antonovshchina #AlexanderAntonov #MikhailTukhachevsky #RussianCivilWar #PeasantUprising #GreenArmy #WarCommunism #GrainRequisition #Tambov #Bolsheviks #ChemicalWeapons #ConcentrationCamps #Dekulakisation #SovietHistory #EasternEurope #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Gisteren7 min
aflevering The Romanov Execution: How the Tsar's Family Died artwork

The Romanov Execution: How the Tsar's Family Died

In this episode, Lucas and Luna delve into the final days of the Romanov family, from their house arrest in Tobolsk to their brutal execution in Yekaterinburg's Ipatiev House on the night of July 16-17, 1918. They explore the roles of key figures like Yakov Yurovsky, the commandant of the Ipatiev House, and the Ural Soviet, as well as the controversial decisions that led to the murders. The discussion also covers the aftermath, including the discovery of the remains and the enduring mysteries surrounding the execution, such as the fate of the two missing bodies and the possibility of survivors. Drawing on primary sources like Yurovsky's notes and the diary of Nicholas II, this episode offers a detailed account of one of the most pivotal events in Russian history. #RomanovExecution #IpatievHouse #YakovYurovsky #NicholasII #AlexandraFeodorovna #TsarevichAlexei #GrandDuchesses #Yekaterinburg #Tobolsk #UralSoviet #RussianRevolution #Bolsheviks #July1918 #MikhailMedvedev #GaninaYama #RomanovRemains #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Gisteren7 min
aflevering The Romanov Execution: How the Tsar's Family Died artwork

The Romanov Execution: How the Tsar's Family Died

This episode of The Russian Revolution goes deep into the last days of the Romanov family — their imprisonment in Tobolsk and Yekaterinburg, the secret execution in the Ipatiev House cellar, and the decades-long cover-up that followed. Lucas and Luna discuss the key figures involved: Yakov Yurovsky, the chief executioner; the local Ural Soviet that ordered the killing without Moscow's explicit approval; and the grisly aftermath, including the failed attempt to destroy the bodies in a mineshaft at Ganina Yama. They explore the debates around whether Lenin directly ordered the murder, the fate of Grand Duchess Anastasia's remains, and the 1991 exhumation that finally confirmed the family's tragic end. No romanticizing — just the raw, contested history of one of the 20th century's defining moments. #RomanovExecution #IpatievHouse #YakovYurovsky #Yekaterinburg #NicholasII #Tobolsk #GaninaYama #RussianRevolution #Bolsheviks #UralSoviet #AnastasiaRomanov #Lenin #RussianHistory #SovietHistory #1918 #Execution #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

13 jul 20266 min
aflevering The Don Cossacks: Tsar's Cavalry to Red Army's Nemesis artwork

The Don Cossacks: Tsar's Cavalry to Red Army's Nemesis

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the tragic and bloody story of the Don Cossacks during the Russian Revolution. From their privileged status under the Tsar as fierce cavalry and defenders of the empire, to their brutal suppression by the Bolsheviks, the Cossacks faced a war of annihilation. We follow the fate of the Don Host, the rise of Ataman Kaledin, and the desperate stand at Novocherkassk. Then, the Red Terror under the Bolsheviks, the famine that decimated their villages, and finally, the terrible fate of those who fled into exile. We touch on figures like General Lavr Kornilov, Pyotr Krasnov, and the little-known story of the Cossack Republic of the Don. A tale of loyalty, betrayal, and a way of life crushed between two ruthless ideologies. #DonCossacks #RussianRevolution #Cossacks #AlekseiKaledin #LavrKornilov #PyotrKrasnov #Novocherkassk #WhiteArmy #RedTerror #DonHost #CivilWar #Famine #Exile #CossackRepublic #EasternEurope #History #FexingoHistory #TsaristRussia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

13 jul 20267 min
aflevering The Siberian Ice March: Kolchak's White Army Retreat artwork

The Siberian Ice March: Kolchak's White Army Retreat

In the winter of 1919-20, as the Red Army closed in, Admiral Alexander Kolchak's White forces began a desperate retreat across Siberia. This episode follows the Siberian Ice March—a catastrophic 2,000-kilometer trek along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Omsk to Irkutsk. Temperatures plunged to minus 50 degrees Celsius. Typhus ravaged the ranks. Kolchak's gold reserve, 500 tons of bullion, became a burden and a target. We explore the collapse of the Omsk government, the betrayal by the Czech Legions, and the harrowing fate of the civilians who fled east. Key figures include Admiral Kolchak, General Vladimir Kappel (whose frostbitten feet were amputated without anesthesia), and the socialist-revolutionary Political Centre that seized power in Irkutsk. We also discuss the legend of the lost Kolchak gold—did it vanish into Lake Baikal, or was it divided among the Czechs? This is a story of idealism frozen solid, of a white movement that couldn't outrun the winter. #SiberianIceMarch #Kolchak #WhiteMovement #RussianCivilWar #TransSiberianRailway #Omsk #Irkutsk #VladimirKappel #CzechLegions #LakeBaikal #KolchakGold #1919 #EasternFront #Siberia #Typhus #FexingoHistory #History #MilitaryHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

12 jul 20265 min