The Unknown Russian Revolution: The Ukrainian Anarchist Nestor Makhno

The Unknown Russian Revolution: The Ukrainian Anarchist Nestor Makhno

While the Bolsheviks and White Armies dominated the Russian Civil War headlines, a third force — the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, led by Nestor Makhno — fought for a stateless society of free peasants and workers. This episode explores Makhno's rise from peasant exile to guerrilla commander, his ideology of 'free soviets,' and his bloody clashes with both the Red Army under Trotsky and the Whites under Denikin. We trace his campaigns across the steppes of southern Ukraine, his alliance with the Bolsheviks (and its violent breakdown), and his final defeat by Mikhail Tukhachevsky's forces in 1921. Along the way, we meet key figures like Lev Kamenev, discuss the Makhnovshchina's experiments in self-government, and unravel the contradictions of an anarchist army fighting a two-front war. A story of utopian dreams crushed by state power, this episode reveals the revolution that could have been. #NestorMakhno #UkrainianAnarchists #Makhnovshchina #RussianCivilWar #FreeSoviets #Huliaipole #RevolutionaryInsurgentArmy #Trotsky #Denikin #Tukhachevsky #Anarchism #BattleOfPeregonovka #UkrainianSteppe #1917Revolution #SovietHistory #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Polish-Soviet War: Warsaw 1920 and the Miracle on the Vistula

In 1920, as the Russian Civil War raged, a new front opened between Bolshevik Russia and the newly independent Polish Republic. This episode focuses on the climactic Battle of Warsaw, often called the Miracle on the Vistula. We explore Józef Piłsudski's daring counteroffensive from the Wieprz River, the Bolshevik command's fatal overextension under Mikhail Tukhachevsky, and the role of signals intelligence — Polish cryptographers breaking Red Army ciphers. We also discuss the political stakes: Lenin's dream of exporting revolution to Germany via Poland, and the Treaty of Riga that redrew borders. Specific focus on the manoeuvre that shattered the Western Front near Radzymin and the subsequent pursuit that saved Warsaw. #PolishSovietWar #BattleOfWarsaw #MiracleOnTheVistula #JozefPilsudski #MikhailTukhachevsky #RedArmy #PolishArmy #WieprzRiver #Radzymin #SignalsIntelligence #CipherBureau #TreatyOfRiga #Lenin #ExportRevolution #August1920 #EasternEurope #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Socialist Revolutionary Combat Squads: Terror Before the Cheka

Before Lenin's Cheka institutionalized state terror, a different kind of violence shaped the Russian revolutionary underground. The Socialist Revolutionary Party's Combat Organization carried out a series of spectacular assassinations between 1902 and 1911, targeting ministers, grand dukes, and governors. This episode dives into the shadowy world of SR terrorists: the bomb-maker Yevno Azef, who was also a police spy; the charismatic leader Boris Savinkov; and the 1904 assassination of Interior Minister Vyacheslav von Plehve, which shook the Tsarist establishment. We explore the moral logic of political terror, the SRs' careful distinction between targeted killing and mass violence, and the drama of Azef's exposure as a double agent, which shattered the party. Lucas and Luna discuss how the combat squads operated, the role of women like Dora Brilliant in constructing bombs, and why the Bolsheviks later rejected this model in favor of class terror. The episode also touches on the dilemma of revolutionary violence: did the SRs' assassinations spark the 1905 Revolution or give the regime an excuse to crack down? And where did the Combat Organization's legacy go after 1917? A story of idealism, betrayal, and the dark prelude to the Red Terror. #SocialistRevolutionaries #CombatOrganization #YevnoAzef #BorisSavinkov #VyacheslavvonPlehve #PoliticalTerror #RussianRevolution #1905Revolution #AzefAffair #DoraBrilliant #BombMakers #DoubleAgent #Assassination #Okhrana #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope #RevolutionaryViolence Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Russian Revolution: The Women's Battalion and the Last Defence of the Winter Palace

In October 1917, as the Bolsheviks prepared to storm the Winter Palace, one of the most poignant and controversial defenders was the 1st Petrograd Women's Battalion, a unit of about 140 female soldiers. This episode explores the origins of Russia's women's battalions, created by the Provisional Government in 1917 to shame men into fighting, and their commander, Maria Bochkareva, a peasant woman who fought in World War One and formed the first all-female combat unit. We examine the women's training, their deployment to defend the palace, and the myths and realities of their role during the Bolshevik takeover — including the story of the battalion's surrender and the later treatment of its members, some of whom were raped or executed. Drawing on memoirs and recently declassified archives, we separate Soviet propaganda from historical fact and ask what drove these women to take up arms in a collapsing empire. #RussianRevolution #WinterPalace #WomensBattalion #MariaBochkareva #Petrograd #Bolsheviks #ProvisionalGovernment #OctoberRevolution #AlexanderKerensky #WomenInCombat #1917 #SovietHistory #MilitaryHistory #GenderHistory #SiegeOfWinterPalace #WomenInWar #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Caucasus Front: World War I's Other Russian Revolution

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the forgotten Caucasus campaign of World War I, where the Russian Empire fought the Ottoman Empire from 1914 to 1917. They discuss the key battle of Sarikamish, where General Nikolai Yudenich decisively defeated Enver Pasha's forces in December 1914, and the brutal winter conditions that claimed tens of thousands of lives. The episode also covers the Armenian volunteer units, the Russian capture of Erzurum in 1916, and how the chaos of the 1917 revolutions unraveled the front, leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the loss of Kars, Ardahan, and Batum. Lucas highlights the strategic importance of the Caucasus for both empires and the long-term consequences for the region. #RussianRevolution #CaucasusFront #WWI #OttomanEmpire #Sarikamish #NikolaiYudenich #EnverPasha #Erzurum #ArmenianVolunteers #BrestLitovsk #Kars #Ardahan #Batum #EasternEurope #WorldWarI #History #FexingoHistory #TsaristRussia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]