logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2023
28m 21s

The Invention of Russia: The empire stri...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Russia's massive empire was not like that of Britain or France. It expanded across the land, making it more like the United States of America. And from very small beginnings, it became the biggest contiguous landmass in the world.

Presenter Misha Glenny speaks to James Hill of the New York Times about travelling to the edges, and also to Janet Hartley, author of Siberia: A History of the People. Plus further contributions from Ukrainian academic Olesya Khromeychuk, Anna Reid, the author of Borderland and Leningrad, and the Tblisi-based journalist, Natalia Antelava, editor-in-chief at Coda Story.

Producer: Miles Warde

(Photo: The imperial procession coming out of the Winter Palace to go to the Cathedral, celebrations for the 3rd centenary of the Romanov dynasty, St Petersburg, Russia, photograph by Bulla-Trampus, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XL, No 12, March 23, 1913. Credit: Getty Images)

Up next
Mar 2023
The sacred song of war
Misha Glenny's final programme on Russia - what it is and where it came from - looks at the country's attitude to war. What has been the long lasting effect of the great patriotic wars against Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte? Plus the Poles, the Mongols, and the British in Cr ... Show More
27m 44s
Mar 2023
Catherine the Great and the question of Europe
It was Peter the Great who created a new capital on the Baltic, and Catherine the Great who extended Russian influence south and west. Sweden, Poland, and the Ottomans all felt the Russian expansion in a century of geopolitical drama. This, says presenter Misha Glenny, is all par ... Show More
27m 49s
Feb 2023
The invention of Russia: A tale of two Ivans
Countries look so cohesive on the map - sturdy borders, familiar shapes. Don't be misled. They didn't always look like this. This is the story of Russia, biggest contiguous country on the planet, told from the time when it was still very small. With contributions across the serie ... Show More
28m 11s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
The Battle of Stalingrad
During World War Two, the Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most brutal engagements of the entire conflict, and would go on to be one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. Over a course of six months, Soviet forces fought to defend their city against the German Ar ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 2024
The Kremlin
Over roughly a thousand years, the Kremlin has come to symbolise Russia itself, with all its varying fortunes, allegiances, and leaders. It’s a physical location that has become synonymous with government and nationhood. Through war and peace, Russia’s leaders have always striven ... Show More
1h 1m
Nov 2024
How Stalin won WW2
In June 1944 Allied armies landed in force in northern France, and the liberation of western Europe began. But, the battle that really sealed Hitler's fate was taking place in the east, as the Red Army prepared an almighty assault against the war-weary Wehrmacht. Speaking to Rob ... Show More
40m 7s
Mar 2021
The Fall of Napoleon
Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell of the fall of Napoleon - Spain, divorce, Russian disaster to Waterloo and St Helena.----more---- In the third of our Napoleonic series our episode starts with Napoleon at the height of his power. Europe lies before him. Only Britain remains st ... Show More
9m 21s
Dec 2024
The Shadow of War
The Jack Carr Book Club December Book of the Month is THE SHADOW OF WAR, a book that explores a pivotal moment in history through the masterful storytelling of Jeff Shaara. In The Shadow of War, Shaara brings to life the intense and complex lead-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Fr ... Show More
1h 28m
Nov 2023
Andrew Roberts - SV's Napoleon Cult, Why Hitler Lost WW2, Churchill as Applied Historian
Andrew Roberts is the world's best biographer and one of the leading historians of our time.We discussed* Churchill the applied historian,* Napoleon the startup founder,* why Nazi ideology cost Hitler WW2,* drones, reconnaissance, and other aspects of the future of war,* Iraq, Af ... Show More
1h 18m
May 2024
Napoleon's Hundred Days
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Napoleon Bonaparte's temporary return to power in France in 1815, following his escape from exile on Elba . He arrived with fewer than a thousand men, yet three weeks later he had displaced Louis XVIII and taken charge of an army as large as any th ... Show More
58m 56s
Oct 2021
Napoleon‘s March on Moscow in 1812
Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of Napoleon’s disastrous march on Moscow in 1812. ----more---- Napoleon was the Emperor of the French and at the height of his powers. He controlled almost all of Europe. Only Britain, Spain and Portugal defied him. Napoleon was obs ... Show More
10m 17s
Mar 2021
Emperor Napoleon
Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell how Napoleon came to power and how his armies were victorious all over Europe.----more---- Napoleon sails to Egypt. He wins a great battle in the shadow of the Pyramids. But Nelson destroys the French fleet, stranding the French in Egypt. Napol ... Show More
9m 59s