The Russian Empire History Podcast

The Khazars began as Byzantium’s closest allies, sealed with the marriage of the khagan’s daughter to the emperor’s son. But one decision by the Khazars turned them into enemies. Read the episode blog post: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/episode-119-from-friends-to-enemies

I’m joined in this episode by Russian historian Alexander Etkind, author of the 2013 book Internal Colonisation to discuss whether the Russian Federation actually could, or, indeed, should break up. Read the episode blog post here: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/special-episode-4-the-russian-federation-could-it-will-it-should-it-break-up-with-alexander-etkind

The Khazar Khaganate was the first steppe empire in the west that had an economy capable of self-sufficiency. In this episode, we look at the development of agriculture by Slavs and steppe settlers in the black earth region of the forest-steppe belt, and other regional economies of Khazaria. Read the episode blog post at https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/episode-118-time-to-settle-down-the-domestic-economy-of-the-khaza Join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/russianempirehistorypodcast Spotify users subscribe on Anchor https://anchor.fm/russianempirehistory/subscribe

Get exclusive content and support the podcast by signing up with Patreon or an Anchor subscription. Find our Patreon here:  https://www.patreon.com/russianempirehistorypodcast Or subscribe through Anchor here: https://anchor.fm/russianempirehistory

With the collapse of the Western Turk Empire, a new Khaganate appears. Soon they will face the might of the expanding Caliphate. Read the episode blog post here: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/episode-117-the-rise-of-the-khazars-and-the-arab-khazar-wars

In this episode, we look at the origin of the Slavs, something we know remarkably little about. What do linguistic reconstructions, archeology and the written sources tell us? Read the episode blogpost at https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/episode-116-the-mysterious-slavs

This episode introduces the Finno-Ugrians, the original inhabitants of the forests of Northeastern Europe, whose descendants continue to maintain a distinct culture in modern Russia. Read the blog post here: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/episode-115-the-finno-ugrians

In this episode, we look at the origins of the Bulgars, claimed as ancestors by several peoples of the Russian Empire from the Volga Bulgars to the Gagauz in modern day Moldova, and also, through Bulgaria, the source of the Cyrillic alphabet. Read the episode blog post at: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/episode-114-bulgars-of-the-western-steppe

In this special episode, the podcast is joined by Oleksa Drachewych to discuss Putin’s claims regarding Ukrainian statehood and nationhood.  Episode blog post: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/special-episode-3-putins-ukrainian-delusions-with-oleksa-drachewych

This is just a short announcement about the podcast.

Dr. Robert N. Spengler is an archeobotanist specialising in the domestication of plants and how they were spread across Eurasia. He joins me today to discuss the role of the steppe in spreading many of the important foods, from grains to fruit and spices, that we all enjoy today.  You can learn much more about this subject in his award winning book Fruit from the Sands: The Silk Road Origins of the Foods We Eat, available in physical, ebook, and audio versions here: https://amzn.to/34FLloZ See the episode blogpost here: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/special-episode-2-from-the-steppe-to-your-table-with-robert-n-spengler

Iranic dominance of the steppe is ending, a new force has arrived. In this episode we take a brief look at the origins of the Turkic peoples and the first Türk Qaganate ahead of a series of episodes on the Turkic migrations into the Western steppe that would lead to the Khazars and Volga Bulgaria. Read the show blog post here: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast/blog/episode-113-children-of-the-wolf 

In this episode, we look at the impact of the Scythians in their time and in later Russian history. Read the show blog post here: https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/the-scythian-legacy

In this episode we return to the narrative with a look at the Scythian migration from Central Asia into the southern Russian and Ukrainian steppe, and the first empire created by a steppe people.  Episode blog post https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/episode-110-the-first-steppe-empire

This episode rounds out our look at the Scythians with the Sarmatians, who displaced the Royal Scythians as the rulers of the Western steppe, and the Saka, the Scythians who stayed in the East.  Check out the episode blogpost at https://therussianempirehistorypodcast.com/blog/episode-111-sarmatians-and-saka