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

Catherine the Great and the Legislative Commission: A Lost Chance for Reform

In 1767, Catherine the Great convened a grand Legislative Commission, bringing together over 500 deputies from across the Russian Empire to draft a new law code. This was not mere political theater; Catherine wrote the Nakaz, a bold instruction that drew on Montesquieu and Beccaria, calling for legal equality and humane justice. But the Commission, representing nobles, townspeople, state peasants, and even non-Russian minorities, quickly bogged down in conflicting interests. The outbreak of war with Turkey in 1768 gave Catherine a graceful exit, and the Commission was indefinitely suspended. This episode explores what the Nakaz said, why it mattered, and how the Commission's failure foreshadowed the limits of Catherine's enlightened absolutism. Did she genuinely seek reform, or was it a public relations exercise? We examine the Nakaz's radical ideas, the deputies' petitions, and the fate of those proposals in Catherine's later reign. #CatherineTheGreat #LegislativeCommission #Nakaz #Montesquieu #Beccaria #EnlightenedAbsolutism #RussianHistory #18thCentury #LawCode #BolshoyKremlyovskyDvorets #Moscow #Deputies #Tatars #Bashkirs #ZaporozhianCossacks #LegalReform #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Moscow Foundling Home

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Catherine the Great's ambitious experiment in social engineering: the Moscow Foundling Home. Opened in 1764, this massive institution was designed by Ivan Betskoy to raise abandoned children as model citizens for the Russian Empire. But Catherine's enlightened ideals collided with brutal realities. Lucas walks us through the Foundling Home's enormous scale — it housed thousands of foundlings — and its innovative educational programs, which trained children in crafts and trades. Yet the mortality rate was catastrophic, sometimes exceeding 80% in the first year. We learn about the Foundling Home's iconic architecture by Karl Blank, its secret treasury funding, and the role of the Moscow Foundling Home in Russia's first medical faculty and smallpox inoculation efforts. We also discuss Catherine's 1763 manifesto that established the institution, and how it fits into her broader program of Westernization. The episode grapples with the tension between Enlightenment ideals and the harsh demographic realities of 18th-century Russia: How could a state that cherished life create an institution where most children died? Lucas and Luna reflect on what the Foundling Home reveals about Catherine's rule and the limits of reform from above. #CatherineTheGreat #MoscowFoundlingHome #IvanBetskoy #Enlightenment #RussianEmpire #18thCentury #SocialReform #KarlBlank #FoundlingHomes #ChildWelfare #HistoryOfMedicine #SmallpoxInoculation #CatherineTheGreatPodcast #FexingoHistory #History #RussianHistory #SocialHistory #Education Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Jewish Pale of Settlement

In 1791, Catherine the Great issued an edict that effectively confined most of the Russian Empire's Jewish population to a western borderland known as the Pale of Settlement. This episode traces the origins of that policy—from the First Partition of Poland in 1772, which added hundreds of thousands of Jewish subjects to the empire, through Catherine's early attempts at integration, to the restrictive 1791 decree that defined Jewish life in Russia for over a century. Lucas and Luna discuss the roles of governor-general Mikhail Krechetnikov, the kahal system, the 1786 Charter of the Towns, and competing voices from officials like Gavrila Derzhavin and the merchant estate. They explore how Catherine's Enlightenment ideals collided with practical governance and prejudice, and how the Pale became a template for later imperial policies. This is a story of borders, identity, and the unintended consequences of statecraft. #CatherineTheGreat #PaleOfSettlement #RussianEmpire #JewishHistory #PolandPartition #1791Decree #MikhailKrechetnikov #Kahal #GavrilaDerzhavin #CharterOfTheTowns #Enlightenment #EasternEurope #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast #18thCentury #ImperialRussia #JewishCommunity Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Russian Fur Trade

In this episode, Lucas and Luna delve into the immense role of the Russian fur trade during Catherine the Great's reign. They explore how the pursuit of sable, ermine, and other pelts drove exploration, shaped the economy, and funded the Empress's ambitions. The conversation covers the Siberian promyshlenniki, the yasak tribute system, the founding of trading posts like Okhotsk and Kyakhta, and the competition with Chinese and European markets. Lucas explains how furs served as a form of currency, the impact on indigenous peoples like the Evenks and Buryats, and the ecological consequences of overhunting. The episode also touches on Grigory Shelikhov's early ventures in Alaska, setting the stage for the Russian-American Company. This untold side of Catherine's empire reveals the hidden engine of expansionist policy. #CatherineTheGreat #RussianFurTrade #Siberia #Promyshlenniki #Yasak #Okhotsk #Kyakhta #Evenks #Buryats #GrigoryShelikhov #RussianAmerica #FurTrapping #Sable #18thCentury #RussianEmpire #EconomicHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

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]