160. The Fall of the Soviet Union

Who was Emperor Tewodros II, the colourful and controversial Emperor of Abyssinia? Why did he brutally imprison a number of British emissaries, and how did Queen Victoria respond? And, how would this spark one of the most ambitious expeditions undertaken by the British Empire…? J ...  Afficher plus

Who was Gaius Marius’ son, and how did he set out to bring down his father’s rival, Sulla? Which two rising stars in Sulla’s faction, Crassus and Pompey, would go on to bring down the Republic, with Julius Caesar? And, how did a momentous battle in the East see Sulla elevated to ...  Afficher plus

📖 [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 ...  Afficher plus

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 ...  Afficher plus

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 ...  Afficher plus

Description: August 19, 1991. A group of Communist Party hardliners attempt to save the collapsing Soviet Union by staging a coup against party leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. This episode originally aired in 2022.You can listen ad-free in the Wondery or Amazon Music app. Or for all t ...  Afficher plus