The Soviet Union: The Rise of a New Empire — Fexingo History cover art

The Soviet Union: The Rise of a New Empire — Fexingo History

The Soviet Union: The Rise of a New Empire — Fexingo History

By: Fexingo
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From the ashes of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union rose to become a superpower that reshaped the 20th century. Join Lucas and Luna as they explore this vast experiment in communism, from the October Revolution of 1917 to its dissolution in 1991. They delve into the iron rule of Stalin, the chaos of collectivization and the Great Purge, the heroic struggle of the Great Patriotic War, the Cold War standoffs like the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the stagnation of the Brezhnev era. Key figures such as Lenin, Trotsky, Khrushchev, Gorbachev, and dissidents like Solzhenitsyn are examined. The gulag system, the race for space, the war in Afghanistan, and the final collapse are all part of this sweeping narrative. What drove the Soviet project, and why did it ultimately fail? This show offers a nuanced, human-centered history that connects past ideologies to present-day geopolitics. #SovietUnion #RussianRevolution #Stalin #Lenin #ColdWar #GreatPatrioticWar #Gulag #CubanMissileCrisis #Brezhnev #Gorbachev #Perestroika #Kremlin #Bolsheviks #SpaceRace #AfghanistanWar #Communism #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo© 2026 Fexingo. All rights reserved. Hourly Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Stalin's Last Purge: The Leningrad Affair

    Stalin's Last Purge: The Leningrad Affair
    Jul 1 2026
    In the wake of World War II, Stalin turned his paranoia against the very party elite who had helped him win. The Leningrad Affair of 1949-1952 was a brutal purge targeting the city's leadership, including Central Committee secretary Aleksei Kuznetsov, Politburo member Nikolai Voznesensky, and Leningrad party boss Pyotr Popkov. All were accused of a phantom conspiracy to make Leningrad a rival power base, tried in secret, and executed. This episode examines how Stalin's suspicion of the Leningrad party organization, which had operated semi-autonomously during the siege, led him to eliminate potential successors and tighten his grip on the postwar Soviet state. We also explore the role of Georgy Malenkov and Lavrentiy Beria in orchestrating the purge, the show trials' impact on the party apparatus, and how the affair foreshadowed the 1953 Doctor's Plot. Through newly accessible archives and firsthand accounts from survivors, we uncover a chapter of Stalinist terror that decimated a generation of administrators who had rebuilt the city after the blockade. #LeningradAffair #StalinPurge #AlekseiKuznetsov #NikolaiVoznesensky #GeorgyMalenkov #LavrentiyBeria #SovietHistory #ColdWar #PoliticalPurges #LeningradSiege #Stalinism #USSR #EasternEurope #20thCentury #StalinistTerror #SovietElite #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • Stalin's Anti-Cosmopolitan Campaign: The Purge of Jewish Culture

    Stalin's Anti-Cosmopolitan Campaign: The Purge of Jewish Culture
    Jul 1 2026
    In the years after World War II, Stalin turned his paranoia against the Soviet Union's Jewish population, launching a campaign against 'rootless cosmopolitans' that targeted intellectuals, artists, and doctors. This episode explores the ideological crackdown that began in 1948, focusing on the closure of Jewish publishing houses, theaters, and schools; the arrest of prominent Jewish writers and poets; and the fabrication of the 'Doctors' Plot' just before Stalin's death. We discuss key figures like Solomon Mikhoels, whose murder in 1948 signaled the start of the purge, and Ilya Ehrenburg, who navigated the shifting political winds. The episode also examines how this campaign reflected Stalin's broader turn toward Russian nationalism and anti-Western isolationism, and how it devastated Yiddish culture in the Soviet Union. By tracing the roots of state-sponsored anti-Semitism to the betrayal of revolutionary internationalism, we uncover a chilling chapter in the late Stalinist era that foreshadowed the stagnation of the Brezhnev years. #Stalin #AntiCosmopolitanCampaign #SovietJews #JewishCulture #Yiddish #SolomonMikhoels #DoctorsPlot #IlyaEhrenburg #MGB #Pravda #RootlessCosmopolitans #StalinistPurges #SovietUnion #ColdWar #1940s #1950s #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    12 mins
  • Stalin's Foreign Fighters: The International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War

    Stalin's Foreign Fighters: The International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War
    Jun 30 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known chapter of Soviet history: the International Brigades that fought in the Spanish Civil War. While most accounts focus on the Western volunteers, Lucas reveals how the Soviet Union organized and dispatched thousands of foreign communists—including Chinese, Japanese, and Eastern European exiles—to fight Franco's forces. They discuss the role of the Comintern in recruiting volunteers, the infamous 'Lincoln Battalion' with its Soviet handlers, and the tragic fate of these fighters after Spain fell. Lucas also delves into the controversial figure of Andreu Nin, the POUM leader killed by NKVD agents, and the secret Soviet archives that only recently revealed the full scale of Stalin's intervention. The episode touches on the cultural impact, including the famous song 'Jarama Valley' and how the Spanish Civil War became a proxy battlefield for Stalin's ambitions. Listeners learn about the forgotten heroes who later faced persecution in Stalin's purges. #SpanishCivilWar #InternationalBrigades #Comintern #Stalin #NKVD #AndreuNin #POUM #LincolnBattalion #SovietUnion #Franco #JaramaValley #ChineseVolunteers #JapaneseCommunists #StalinistPurges #ProxyWar #1930s #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
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