Peter the Great's Beard Tax: Reforming Russia One Whisker at a Time

Peter the Greats New Capital The Founding of Saint Petersburg

In 1703, on a swampy, mosquito-infested island at the mouth of the Neva River, Peter the Great ordered the construction of a new city. This episode follows the brutal and ambitious birth of Saint Petersburg: from the first stone of the Peter and Paul Fortress to the forced relocation of tens of thousands of serfs, the architectural vision of Domenico Trezzini, and the symbolic victory of a window on the Baltic. Hosts Lucas and Luna explore how Peter's obsession with a modern capital clashed with the harsh realities of disease, labor, and the Great Northern War. They discuss the role of Swedish prisoners, the engineering challenges of building on marshland, and the political message behind naming the city after his patron saint. Why did Peter abandon Moscow? How did a city built on bones become Russia's imperial jewel? And what does Saint Petersburg reveal about Peter's ruthless drive to transform his country? This is the story of a city that defied nature and tradition alike. #PeterTheGreat #SaintPetersburg #NevaRiver #PeterAndPaulFortress #DomenicoTrezzini #GreatNorthernWar #BalticSea #RussianEmpire #UrbanPlanning #1703 #TsarPeter #WindowOnTheWest #MenshikovPalace #Kronstadt #VasilyevskyIsland #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Peter the Great's Shoe of the People: Taxation and Census

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Peter the Great's radical fiscal and administrative reforms, focusing on the shift from household to poll taxation after the Great Northern War. They discuss the landmark census of 1718–1724, the introduction of the soul tax (podushnaya podat'), and the creation of the passport system that tied every Russian male to a fixed place of registration. The conversation covers the role of Vasily Tatishchev in conducting the census in Siberia, the resistance of Old Believers (starovery) who double-counted themselves or fled, and the broader implications for serfdom and state control. Lucas explains how the revision (reviziya) became a tool for military conscription and how Peter's tax reforms funded his modern army and navy. The episode also touches on the administrative reshuffling into guberniyas and the rise of the fiskal system to combat corruption. Listeners will learn how Peter's relentless drive for efficiency reshaped the everyday lives of millions and laid the groundwork for the Russian Empire's fiscal apparatus. #PeterTheGreat #RussianHistory #PodushnayaPodat #PollTax #SoulTax #1718Census #VasilyTatishchev #OldBelievers #Starovery #Reviziya #Fiskal #GreatNorthernWar #Serfdom #Taxation #18thCentury #FexingoHistory #History #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Peter the Great's War on Corruption: The Trial of Prince Gagarin

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the untold story of Prince Mikhail Gagarin, the first governor of Siberia under Peter the Great. Gagarin was a brilliant administrator who helped modernize Russia's eastern frontier, but his greed led to one of the most spectacular corruption scandals of the era. Lucas details how Gagarin embezzled funds, extorted bribes, and even traded with China through illegal channels. When Peter discovered the fraud, he ordered a public execution in front of the Twelve Collegia in Saint Petersburg. But was Gagarin a symbol of Russia's old corrupt elite, or a scapegoat for a system that Peter himself had created? The hosts discuss the limits of reform, the tension between merit and patronage, and how Gagarin's downfall set a precedent for anticorruption efforts in Russia. This episode draws on the trials of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, the Berg Privilege, and the new fiscal reforms. A gripping tale of power, greed, and the price of modernization. #PeterTheGreat #MikhailGagarin #Siberia #Corruption #PreobrazhenskyPrikaz #GoverningSenate #BergKollegiya #TwelveCollegia #RussianHistory #18thCentury #FiscalReforms #Embezzlement #Execution #Nevyansk #Demidov #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Peter the Great's War on the Russian Orthodox Church

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Peter the Great's radical overhaul of the Russian Orthodox Church. After the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700, Peter refused to name a successor, eventually abolishing the patriarchate entirely and replacing it with the Holy Synod, a state-controlled body. They discuss the rise of Stefan Yavorsky as locum tenens, the influence of Feofan Prokopovich in drafting the Ecclesiastical Regulation, and the brutal crackdown on Old Believers, who saw Peter as the Antichrist. The episode also covers the abolition of the Monastery Prikaz, the seizure of church lands, and the requirement for monks to be educated. Lucas provides vivid details of the Synod's first meeting in 1721, the role of the Ober-Procurator, and the lasting impact of Peter's church reforms, which subordinated Russian Orthodoxy to the state for two centuries. #PeterTheGreat #RussianOrthodoxChurch #HolySynod #FeofanProkopovich #StefanYavorsky #EcclesiasticalRegulation #OldBelievers #PatriarchAdrian #MonasteryPrikaz #OberProcurator #ChurchReform #18thCentury #RussianHistory #EasternEurope #History #FexingoHistory #Orthodoxy #Tsar Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Table of Ranks Peter the Great's Social Revolution

In 1722, Peter the Great introduced the Table of Ranks, a radical document that shattered centuries of tradition by making promotion dependent on service rather than birth. This episode explores the origins of the system in Peter's frustration with the hereditary boyar aristocracy, the mechanics of the fourteen-rank ladder, and the chaos it caused among the old noble families. We discuss the symbolic humiliation of the old system with a degraded boyar, the career of the first non-noble to reach the top rank, Andrei Osterman, and how the Table of Ranks transformed Russia's social fabric. Lucas and Luna also touch on the resistance from the Golitsyn and Dolgorukov families, the role of the Heraldry Office (Gerbovaya Palata), and the long-term consequences for Russian society. #History #FexingoHistory #PeterTheGreat #TableOfRanks #TabelORangakh #RussianHistory #18thCentury #SocialReform #AndreiOsterman #Golitsyn #Dolgorukov #GerbovayaPalata #Boyar #Dvorianstvo #PeterTheGreatReforms #RussianEmpire #TsarPeter #Russia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]