episode-header-image

Mar 2022

34m 5s

160. The Fall of the Soviet Union

About this episode

[Episode 2 of 4]

This episode of The Rest Is History marks the second instalment in our four part series on the Soviet Union, Russia and the rise of Vladimir Putin.

From the 70th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in 1987 to the fall of the Soviet Union on Christmas Day 1991, this episode is jam-packed full of late Soviet drama.

Tune in now to hear about the abuse Yeltsin received after his attempted suicide, the failed Soviet coup of 1991 and Putin's return from East Germany.

Next episode out tomorrow - or get them all at once by heading to restishistorypod.com!

Producer: Dom Johnson

Exec Producers: Tony Pastor & Jack Davenport

*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:

Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia!

Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com

Twitter:

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next

581. The Irish Civil War: The Killing of Michael Collins (Part 2)

After the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson and the signing of the polarising Anglo-Irish Treaty, how did the bombastic Battle of the Four Courts break out in Dublin? With British guns opening fire on the building, how long did the men of the IRA hold out? What was the outcome of ... Show More

580. The Irish Civil War: The Assassination of Sir Henry Wilson (Part 1)

Who was Sir Henry Wilson, and how was he shockingly murdered in 1922? Who ordered it? What was his attitude to the question of Irish Home Rule? Why has death been compared to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose death triggered the First World War? How did he garn ... Show More

579. The Irish War of Independence: Showdown in London (Part 4)

What were the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed in December 1921, following negotiations between the UK and Sinn Féin? How was it received by the Irish people? What was the process by which it was agreed between Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Michael Collins, and Arthur G ... Show More

Recommended Episodes

The Fall of the Soviet Union

In August 1991 there was an attempted coup in the Soviet Union as communist hard-liners sought to re-establish the dominance of Soviet rule in Russia and its satellite states. The coup attempt collapsed after three days and it eventually led to the collapse of communism. Mikhail ... Show More

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

84. La révolution russe

En 1917, la Russie connaît 2 révolutions coup sur coup, celle de février qui renverse le tsar, laissant place à un gouvernement provisoire, et celle d’octobre quand Lénine et les bolcheviks prennent le pouvoir par un coup d’Etat. Quels sont les acteurs de cette révolution, les e ... Show More

#31 The Fall of the Soviet Union

📖 [Episode Transcripts in link below] ⬇️ Today, we embark on a journey into the history of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991—a dissolution marking the end of the Cold War era and giving rise to geopolitical shifts as well as the emergence of new nations. https://patreon.c ... Show More

Introducing: The Last Soviet

Hey, Stuff You Missed In History Class listeners! The newest hit docuseries of another star-studded podcast, The Last Soviet is live. Go check out the beginning of this thrilling journey with Lance Bass, NSync Superstar, and Russian-trained astronaut!” About The Last Soviet: La ... Show More

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

90. The Russian Revolution: Overthrowing the Tsar

Russian politics is fast destabilising. Strikes, assassinations, and famines have made Russia increasingly turbulent at the turn of the century. Revolutionary politics is on the rise, as is dissatisfaction with the tsar. When compounded by the strains of the defeat in the Russo-J ... Show More

The Romanov family were the first imperial dynasty to rule Russia, reigning from the early seventeenth century until the Russian Revolution of 1917. Including such illustrious names as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Alexander I, they oversaw dramatic changes to the fabr ... Show More

Life of the Week: Stalin

Josef Stalin is a titan of modern history – and one of its most infamous leaders, responsible for the deaths of millions. Danny Bird spoke to Robert Service to chart the Soviet tyrant's life, from his childhood in Georgia to his rise to become the dictator of the Soviet Union and ... Show More

Daily: BACK IN THE USSR? Author Sergei Lebedev on Russia’s unquiet past

Novelist Sergei Lebedev writes forensically detailed books which uncover how Soviet history still exerts its power on modern Russians. According to the New York Review of Books he’s “the best of Russia’s younger generation of writers.” He talks to Alex Andreou about his latest no ... Show More

Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami