The Russian Empire History Podcast

This episode looks at Vladimir’s reign from the baptism of Rus until his death. Did he manage to do anything else noteworthy?

What happened at the baptism of Rus, and inventing St. Vladimir/Volodymyr from the Tale of Bygone Years to Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir continues to expand his territory and to consider the role of religion in his kingdom.

The death of Svyatoslav found Rus unprepared for the succession. The three sons he left in charge of Kyiv, the Drevlians, and Novgorod, soon turn to fighting among themselves.

Vladimir Putin says he believes in the “passionary theory”. What does he mean, and where do the Khazars come in?

Part I of a short series looking at the Khazars after the fall of Khazaria. Was there a connection between the Khazars and East European Jews?

In this episode, we look at the first Rus ruler with a Slavic name, but a not so Slavic personal style. If it wasn’t for those treacherous Byzantines, things could have turned out very differently...

In this episode, we continue our introduction to Volga Bulgaria with a look at the ruling dynasty, the capital city, and their conversion to Islam.

In this episode, we begin exploring the formation of Volga Bulgaria, a major medieval European kingdom that will play a significant role in our story.

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In this special episode, I discuss how Byzantium viewed Rus and aspects of their relationship with Dr Monica White of the University of Nottingham.

Olga of Kyiv has been venerated as a saint and gained popularity in modern times as a vengeful warrior queen, but how true are those stories? Listen to this episode to find out the true story of Olga.

https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/129-olga-of-kyiv

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In this episode, we look at what the Tale of Bygone Years tells us about Rurik’s successors, Oleg and Igor, and try to figure out what actually might have happened. 

Read the blogpost: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/128-oleg-the-seer-and-igor-rurikovich

In this episode we look at the traditional founder of the ruling dynasty of Rus, discuss what the Rus chronicles were and how they were created, and cover the mistranslation of Rus titles.

Read the blog post: therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/127-rurik-and-what-was-the-tale-of-bygone-years-anyway

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In Part II, we look at Scandinavian and Rus encounters with the Bulgars and Khazars. 

This episode starts a short series considering the early Rus with a look at where Rus began.

The final part of this mini-series looks at the first tentative steps of Scandinavian travelers into the East.

Read the blog post here: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/episode-123-before-the-rus-part-iii-scandinavians-in-the-northern-forest

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An introduction to one of the biggest controversies in Russian and Ukrainian history - who were the Rus?