[Episode 1 of 4]
Welcome to our new four part series on the latter years of the Soviet Union, its fall, Putin's early life and his subsequent rise to power.
Today's episode focuses on Brezhnev, Putin's formative years, his early KGB career and Gorbachev's descent into chaos.
Was Putin a nationalist or a communist? What changed from Brezhnev to Gorbachev? ... Show More
Apr 26
664. Britain in the 70s: Scandal in Downing Street (Part 3)
With Britain heading towards financial meltdown and paranoia in the air, could its exhausted Prime Minister, Harold Wilson survive? Why were bombs going off in London every few days in the winter of 1975? And, with inflation reaching unprecedented heights, would the government fi ... Show More
1h 14m
Apr 22
663. Britain in the 70s: The Brexit That Never Was (Part 2)
In the Spring of 1975, why was the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, so embattled? Why was the left so divided during this period? And, was Britain’s relationship with Europe already fracturing…? Join Tom and Dominic, as they discuss the trials of Harold Wilson, as the melee of 1970 ... Show More
1h 17m
Apr 19
662. Britain in the 70s: The Rise of Thatcher (Part 1)
How did Margaret Thatcher rise to become leader of the Conservative Party in Britain? Why were British politics so tumultuous in the 1970s? And, who was Thatcher up against? Join Dominic and Tom as they launch into the dramas, calamities, and triumphs of Thatcher’s rise to power, ... Show More
1h 15m
Mar 2022
The Rest Is History: Young Putin, the KGB and the Soviet Union
In our most recent episode, Alastair mentioned our sister podcast, The Rest Is History, and its recent mini-series on the Soviet Union, its fall, Putin's early life and his subsequent rise to power.
Here's the first episode of the series on Brezhnev, Putin's formative years, his ... Show More
33m 9s
Jul 2022
Putin, Power and Personality
<p>Vladimir Putin has the power to reduce the United States and Europe to ashes in a nuclear firestorm. He invades his neighbours, most recently Ukraine, meddles in western elections and orders assassinations inside and outside Russia. But who is the man behind the headlines?</p> ... Show More
31m 20s
Nov 2023
95. The History of Putin's War
Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022, but how did we get to this point? After the brutality of the Second World War, Ukraine was completely under the control of Moscow. Then in the 1980s, with Chernobyl as the catalyst, the Ukrainian nationalist movement regained ... Show More
53m 37s
Jun 2023
Wagner vs Putin: A History of Russian Coups
<p>On the 24th of June, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his paramilitary group Wagner carried out what appeared to be an attempted coup in Russia. In a seismic turn of events, his mercenaries marched across the Russian border without resistance and seized key military installations i ... Show More
24m 40s
Mar 2024
Back in the USSR: the Soviet Sixties
Within just a few years of Stalin's death in 1953, the Soviet Union had sent the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit. An era of renewal and excitement beckoned. Speaking to Danny Bird, Robert Hornsby tells the story of how Soviet society embraced the 1960s – from new ... Show More
45m 50s