logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
52m 32s

73. Ivan the Terrible and the Founding o...

Goalhanger
About this episode

Subjected, downtrodden, brutalised. The principality of Muscovy had long suffered at the hands of the Mongols. But as their overlords weaken, their ruler, Ivan the Great, begins to lead the Muscovites to freedom. Come 1533, it is time for his descendant, Ivan the Terrible to rule. A man known to enjoy hanging people by their ribs, and drowning people under river ice, will his taste for torture throw everything into chaos? Or will he expel the Mongols once and for all, laying the foundations of the Russian Empire? Listen as William and Anita are joined by Simon Sebag Montefiore to discuss the early days of Russia and its empire.


Twitter: @Empirepoduk


Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com


Goalhangerpodcasts.com


Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Jack Davenport + Neil Fearn

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

Up next
Yesterday
284. Suez Crisis: The British Imperialist vs The Arab Nationalist (Part 1)
How did Britain and France almost start World War 3 in 1956? Who was Anthony Eden and why did he hate Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser? Why was the Suez Canal so vital to European oil supplies in the 1950s? Anita and William are joined by the brilliant Alex Von Tunzelmann, auth ... Show More
42m 7s
Aug 20
283. Partition: East Pakistan Becomes Bangladesh (Part 6)
How did Bangladesh separate from Pakistan in 1971? When did India and Pakistan go from sharing intelligence to being at the brink of nuclear war? Why did George Harrison from the Beatles organise a concert for Bangladesh? William and Anita are joined once again by Sam Dalrymple, ... Show More
54m 53s
Aug 18
282. Partition: The Birth of The Kashmir Conflict (Part 5)
What happened to the 565 princely states within British India when it became independent from the empire? How are the current conflicts in Balochistan and Kashmir linked to the partition of the princely states? Why have copies of the Lonely Planet been burnt because of their maps ... Show More
49m 56s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2020
Ivan the Terrible Pt. 1: Russia
Ivan Vasilyevich the Fourth was crowned Grand Prince of Muscovy at 3 years old after his father died. After a traumatic childhood of chaos and coups, Ivan would crown himself the first Tsar of Russia and go on to create the Russian Empire. The first half of his reign would have m ... Show More
47m 29s
Aug 2023
Ivan the Terrible
The name Ivan the Terrible is synonymous with brutality and ruthlessness. While Western scholars insist that the first crowned Tsar of all Russia did create a policy of mass repression and execution, others claim Ivan’s name has been tarnished by Western travellers and writers. H ... Show More
36m 25s
Jan 2024
The Romanovs
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
29m 39s
Aug 2023
Putin's Rise to Power
Serving continuously as either Prime Minister or President since 1999, Vladimir Putin's leadership of Russia has always dominated the geopolitical stage and made headlines. Enforcing extreme policies, engaging with dangerous allies, and hiring deadly mercenaries - it seems he isn ... Show More
47m 27s
Jul 2020
Joseph Stalin Part 1: The Young Bank Robber
Joseph Stalin - the “man of steel” - was the party secretary who plotted a route to absolute power, becoming head of the Eastern Bloc and chief nemesis of the United States. But how did a man from the Georgian frontier of the Russian Empire do it? In 1917, the 300-year-old Romano ... Show More
53m 10s
Jul 2020
Joseph Stalin Part 2: The Secretary Becomes Dictator
With the First World War underway, Stalin’s journey to dictatorship grinds into gear. After the War, Russia is turned upside down. Stalin thrives in the chaos, masterminding a string of elaborate takedowns of his rivals. Rising to party leader, he visits a ruthless purge on his e ... Show More
54m 21s
Jun 2022
Mutiny on the Black Sea
June 27, 1905. It’s the last morning of Ippolit Gilyarovsky’s life. He wakes up in a battleship on the Black Sea. The Potemkin. He’s a despised Russian naval officer who doesn’t care that his sailors are refusing to eat their lunch of rotten borscht. They’ll do it because he says ... Show More
32m 48s
Jul 2024
466. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Conspiracy (Part 2)
Gavrilo Princip, having been sent to school in Sarajevo, has become mixed up with the wrong crowd, and is now entangled in a secret Serbian nationalist organisation, the Black Hand. Hoping to be more involved in the struggle for a greater Yugoslavia, he’s left for Belgrade, and a ... Show More
57m 1s
Aug 2023
Attila the Hun: Terror of Rome
Returning to one of the most infamous names in history, what happened to Attila the Hun after the devastation he caused in the Balkans - and where did he turn his attention to next? One of the most powerful, and feared, leaders of history, Attila turned his sights on the West - b ... Show More
44m 58s
Jul 2020
Joseph Stalin Part 3: Hitler Attacks
Stalin’s regime hits the rocks when Adolf Hitler launches Operation Barbarossa and invades Russia. Nazi tanks plough towards Moscow in a devastating advance. Stalin’s legacy is forged in this fight to the death. In his final years, the strongman succumbs to cardiac problems. His ... Show More
49m 37s