Catherine the Great's Secret Correspondence: Voltaire and the Philosophes

Catherine the Great and the First Partition of Poland 1772

In 1772, Russia, Prussia, and Austria carved up the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the First Partition, a move that shocked Europe and redrew the map. Lucas and Luna explore Catherine the Great's motivations—securing her western border while distracting the Ottoman Empire and satisfying Frederick the Great. They discuss the Sejm's forced ratification under Russian military pressure, the territorial losses (about 30% of Poland's land and half its population), and the ideological gymnastics: Catherine's Enlightenment rhetoric versus realpolitik. Names like Stackelberg, Poniatowski, and Repnin surface. They touch on how the Partition set a precedent for the destruction of a sovereign state and fueled Polish resistance for generations. #FirstPartitionOfPoland #CatherineTheGreat #PolishLithuanianCommonwealth #FrederickTheGreat #MariaTheresa #StanislawAugustPoniatowski #Sejm #Realpolitik #Enlightenment #BarConfederation #NicholasRepnin #Stackelberg #EasternEurope #18thCentury #RussianEmpire #Prussia #Austria #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Crimean Annexation of 1783

In 1783, Catherine the Great annexed the Crimean Khanate, a bold move that reshaped Eastern Europe. This episode dives into the diplomatic maneuvering, the role of Grigory Potemkin, the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, and the establishment of Sevastopol as a Black Sea naval base. We explore the fate of the last Crimean khan, Şahin Giray, and how Catherine's Greek Project aimed to revive Byzantium. The conversation also touches on the reactions of European powers like France and Britain, and the long-term consequences for Crimea's Tatar population. A pivotal moment in Russian expansion. #CrimeanAnnexation #CatherineTheGreat #GrigoryPotemkin #Sevastopol #BlackSeaFleet #GreekProject #ŞahinGiray #TreatyOfKüçükKaynarca #CrimeanKhanate #Novorossiya #RussianEmpire #Tatars #EasternEurope #18thCentury #Diplomacy #NavalHistory #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great's Greek Project and the Dream of Byzantium

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Catherine the Great's ambitious Greek Project—her grand plan to resurrect the Byzantine Empire under Russian control. They discuss how Grigory Potemkin championed this vision, the role of the Crimean Peninsula as a stepping stone, and the naming of Catherine's grandson Constantine with imperial aspirations. The conversation covers the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, the annexation of Crimea in 1783, the founding of Sevastopol and the Black Sea Fleet, and the diplomatic reactions of European powers like Austria and France. They delve into the symbolic use of Byzantine imagery, Potemkin's military campaigns against the Ottomans, and why the project ultimately failed. The episode also touches on the cultural foundations of the dream, including the transfer of the Byzantine double-headed eagle to Russian heraldry and the establishment of Novorossiya as a frontier region. A brief interlude discusses how listener support through Buy Me a Coffee keeps Fexingo ad-free and independent. #CatherineTheGreat #GreekProject #GrigoryPotemkin #ByzantineEmpire #Crimea #Novorossiya #RussoTurkishWars #Sevastopol #BlackSeaFleet #TreatyOfKucukKaynarca #ConstantinePavlovich #EasternQuestion #RussianEmpire #18thCentury #History #Podcast #FexingoHistory #OttomanEmpire Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Serf Economy in Russia

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Catherine the Great shaped and was shaped by the serf economy that underpinned her empire. They discuss the 1765 ukase that allowed landlords to send serfs to hard labor, the 1767 law forbidding serfs from petitioning the empress, and the brutal reality of the obrok (quitrent) system. They examine Catherine's contradictory impulses: her Enlightenment-era Nakaz (Instruction) of 1767, which called for humane treatment of serfs, versus her practical dependence on the nobility's support. The conversation covers key figures like Mikhail Shcherbatov, who warned that serfdom corrupted the nobility, and the serf poet Vasily Kapnist, who secretly criticized the system. They also delve into the serf market and the notorious Saltychikha (Darya Saltykova), a noblewoman who tortured over 100 serfs to death. The episode concludes by reflecting on Catherine's failure to reform serfdom, despite her intellectual engagement with the problem, and how this failure would haunt Russia for generations. #CatherineTheGreat #Serfdom #RussianEmpire #18thCentury #RussianHistory #MikhailShcherbatov #VasilyKapnist #Saltychikha #Nakaz #Obrok #Enlightenment #SerfEconomy #DaryaSaltykova #1767Law #FexingoHistory #History #Russia #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Catherine the Great and the Potemkin Villages Myth

This episode of Fexingo History dives into one of the most enduring legends surrounding Catherine the Great: the so-called 'Potemkin villages.' Did Grigory Potemkin really build fake settlements to deceive the empress during her 1787 tour of Novorossiya? We trace the origin of the myth to the Saxon diplomat Georg von Helbig, whose 1797 pamphlet 'Potemkin the Taurian' first popularized the tale. We examine the evidence: Potemkin's actual achievements in colonizing New Russia, the construction of real towns like Kherson, Nikolayev, and Sevastopol, and the eyewitness accounts of foreign travelers like William Coxe and the Comte de Ségur, who described thriving communities. We also explore why the myth stuck—partly due to political rivalries at court, partly because it fit European prejudices about Russian backwardness. The term 'Potemkin village' remains a metaphor for deceptive facades, but the historical reality is far more complex and impressive. #CatherineTheGreat #PotemkinVillages #GrigoryPotemkin #Novorossiya #RussianHistory #18thCentury #MythBusting #GeorgVonHelbig #Kherson #Sevastopol #WilliamCoxe #ComteDeSegur #NewRussia #HistoryMyths #EasternEurope #FexingoHistory #Podcast #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]