When St. Petersburg nobility mockingly called Moscow a "big village," in the 19th century – a time when they lived in all the excess found in a Tolstoy novel -- they couldn't have imagined the provincial fortress would become the heart of a nation spanning eleven percent of Earth's landmass and eleven time zones. It had a long warm-up time to get there. For nearly a millennium, Moscow has endured Tatar Mongols, Swedish armies, Napoleon, Hitler, devastating fires that never stopped burning even in snow and rain, and the Soviet destruction of its sacred churches—each catastrophe reinforcing the city's identity as both glittering prize and perpetual phoenix rising from ashes. From the 1147 seizure of boyar Stepan Kuchka's land by Prince Yuri to Putin's current authoritarian rule, Moscow's history of autocracy, violence, and resurrection holds the key to understanding why liberal democracy has never thrived in Russia (and why some say it shouldn’t) and why most Russians simultaneously hate the Ukraine war yet believe it's justified.

Today's guest is Simon Morrison, author of A Kingdom and a Village: A One-Thousand Year History of Moscow. We discuss how Moscow transformed from tax collector for the Golden Horde – basically a vassal of a daughter state of the Mongol empire -- into Russia's capital through Ivan the Terrible's brutal consolidation of power. We also see why Moscow was the world's most flammable city with a thriving network of Home Depot-like rebuilding businesses, and how the city's French-speaking nineteenth-century nobility created the cultural duality Tolstoy critiqued in War and Peace. Russia's geographic determinism—vast open borders requiring an autocratic "iron hand"—means the nation has lurched from one tyranny to another, never achieving the civil society and free press Americans take for granted.

When St. Petersburg nobility mockingly called Moscow a "big village," in the 19th century &ndash; a time when they lived in all the excess found in a Tolstoy novel -- they couldn't have imagined the provincial fortress would become the heart of a nation spanning eleven percent of Earth's landmass and eleven time zones. It had a long warm-up time to get there. For nearly a millennium, Moscow has endured Tatar Mongols, Swedish armies, Napoleon, Hitler, devastating fires that never stopped burning even in snow and rain, and the Soviet destruction of its sacred churches&mdash;each catastrophe reinforcing the city's identity as both glittering prize and perpetual phoenix rising from ashes. From the 1147 seizure of boyar Stepan Kuchka's land by Prince Yuri to Putin's current authoritarian rule, Moscow's history of autocracy, violence, and resurrection holds the key to understanding why liberal democracy has never thrived in Russia (and why some say it shouldn&rsquo;t) and why most Russians simultaneously hate the Ukraine war yet believe it's justified.
Today's guest is Simon Morrison, author of A Kingdom and a Village: A One-Thousand Year History of Moscow. We discuss how Moscow transformed from tax collector for the Golden Horde &ndash; basically a vassal of a daughter state of the Mongol empire -- into Russia's capital through Ivan the Terrible's brutal consolidation of power. We also see why Moscow was the world's most flammable city with a thriving network of Home Depot-like rebuilding businesses, and how the city's French-speaking nineteenth-century nobility created the cultural duality Tolstoy critiqued in War and Peace. Russia's geographic determinism&mdash;vast open borders requiring an autocratic "iron hand"&mdash;means the nation has lurched from one tyranny to another, never achieving the civil society and free press Americans take for granted.

For history lovers who listen to podcasts, History Unplugged is the most comprehensive show of its kind. It's the only show that dedicates episodes to both interviewing experts and answering questions from its audience. First, it features a call-in show where you can ask our resident historian (Scott Rank, PhD) absolutely anything (What was it like to be a Turkish sultan with four wives and twelve concubines? If you were sent back in time, how would you kill Hitler?). Second, it features long-form interviews with best-selling authors who have written about everything. Topics include gruff World War II generals who flew with airmen on bombing raids, a war horse who gained the rank of sergeant, and presidents who gave their best speeches while drunk.

A show about American history, world history, World Wars 1 & 2, the Civil War, and much more.

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brodén from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.

 

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brod&eacute;n from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.
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