Episodes

  • The Black January Massacre: Azerbaijan's Bloody Path to Independence

    The Black January Massacre: Azerbaijan's Bloody Path to Independence
    Jul 4 2026
    In January 1990, as the Soviet Union teetered on the brink of collapse, Moscow sent tanks and paratroopers into Baku to crush Azerbaijan's burgeoning independence movement. The assault—code-named Operation Ring—left hundreds dead and thousands wounded, and forever changed the trajectory of the republic. This episode tells the story of Black January: the political tensions that led to it, the violence that unfolded, and its aftermath. We explore the role of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan, the crackdown that killed over 130 civilians, and how the massacre actually galvanized demands for sovereignty. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and newly declassified Soviet documents, Lucas and Luna examine why Moscow targeted Baku, how the tragedy was covered up, and why many Azeris still call it a genocide. The episode also touches on the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's refusal to condemn the attack, the subsequent exodus of Soviet troops, and how the massacre paved the way for the restoration of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's flag in 1991. A pivotal, heartbreaking moment in the Caucasus. #BlackJanuary #Baku #Azerbaijan #SovietUnion #MikhailGorbachev #PopularFront #Independence #Massacre #OperationRing #1990 #Caucasus #SovietRepression #Genocide #AzerbaijaniHistory #20thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #ColdWar Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • Zoroastrian Oil: How Ancient Fire Worship Shaped Baku's Oil Boom

    Zoroastrian Oil: How Ancient Fire Worship Shaped Baku's Oil Boom
    Jul 4 2026
    Long before Baku became synonymous with oil, the Absheron Peninsula was known for something else: eternal flames. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Zoroastrian fire worshipers and later Indian merchants at the Ateshgah temple were drawn to the same natural gas vents that would eventually fuel the world's first oil boom. They discuss how ancient sacred geography overlapped with modern extraction, how the 1872 oil rush transformed the landscape around Surakhany, and why the fire temple's significance faded as kerosene lamps replaced sacred flames. The conversation also touches on the environmental cost of oil — a thread that connects Mullah Hasan Mollazade's 19th-century warnings to today's climate concerns. Specific figures include the Zoroastrian priest Mobed Rostam, the Swedish Nobel brothers, and the Azerbaijani environmentalist Mollazade. Places include Surakhany, Bibi-Heybat, and Baku. This episode offers a fresh lens on a familiar story: the collision of the sacred and the industrial in the Caucasus. #Zoroastrianism #Ateshgah #Baku #OilHistory #Absheron #Surakhany #MullahHasanMollazade #NobelBrothers #Branobel #SacredGeography #FireWorship #EnvironmentalHistory #Caucasus #Azerbaijan #19thCentury #IndustrialRevolution #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins
  • The Mugan Steppe: Agriculture, Oil, and the Russian Empire

    The Mugan Steppe: Agriculture, Oil, and the Russian Empire
    Jul 3 2026
    In this episode of The Story of Azerbaijan, Lucas and Luna explore the Mugan Steppe, a vast plain in southeastern Azerbaijan that became a battleground for agriculture, oil, and imperial ambition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Lucas explains how the Russian Empire saw the Mugan as a potential breadbasket, bringing in Russian and Ukrainian settlers alongside local Azeri nomads. He highlights the role of the Mugan-Salyan Irrigation Canal, opened in 1914, which transformed the arid landscape into cotton fields. But the steppe also saw violent clashes during the 1905-1907 Russian Revolution, when Azeri and Armenian communities clashed, and later became a stronghold for the Bolsheviks. Lucas discusses figures like Vasiliy Kiriakov, a Russian agronomist, and the short-lived Mugan Soviet Republic of 1919. The episode also touches on the region's oil potential, with early drilling near Salyan and Neftçala. Luna offers sharp reactions to the scale of forced migration and the irony of the steppe being both a place of wealth and conflict. The conversation weaves together environmental history, ethnic politics, and the legacy of the Russian Empire in the Caucasus. #MuganSteppe #Azerbaijan #RussianEmpire #Caucasus #Agriculture #Cotton #Irrigation #Salyan #Neftçala #MuganSovietRepublic #VasiliyKiriakov #1905Revolution #Bolsheviks #TsaristRussia #Settlers #Oil #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • The Turkmencay Treaty: How Russia Redrew the Caucasus

    The Turkmencay Treaty: How Russia Redrew the Caucasus
    Jul 3 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Treaty of Turkmenchay of 1828, the agreement that finalized Russia's conquest of the Caucasian khanates and permanently divided Azerbaijani territories between Russia and Iran. They follow the dramatic siege of Erivan, the negotiations led by General Ivan Paskevich and Crown Prince Abbas Mirza, and the treaty's harsh terms: war reparations, forced population transfers, and the cession of the Erivan and Nakhchivan khanates. They discuss how the treaty created a border that split Azeri communities and set the stage for modern national identity. Along the way, they touch on the role of the Russian diplomat and playwright Alexander Griboyedov, whose murder in Tehran just a year later was a direct consequence of the treaty's humiliations. The episode also examines the Treaty of Gulistan (1813) as a prelude and contrasts the two agreements. As always, Lucas and Luna keep the conversation grounded in specific people and events—no vague talk of 'turbulent eras.' This is one of the foundational documents of modern Azerbaijan, and its echoes are still felt today. #TurkmenchayTreaty #RussoPersianWar #IvanPaskevich #AbbasMirza #AlexanderGriboyedov #QajarDynasty #RussianEmpire #CaucasusHistory #AzerbaijanHistory #ErivanKhanate #NakhchivanKhanate #GulistanTreaty #1828 #history #FexingoHistory #Podcast #19thCentury #Diplomacy Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • The Nagorno-Karabakh War: A 20th Century Conflict

    The Nagorno-Karabakh War: A 20th Century Conflict
    Jul 2 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that erupted in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed. They trace the roots of the dispute, from the region's history under Russian and Soviet rule to the decisions made by Stalin that set the stage for bloodshed. The conversation covers the key events of the war, including the Khojaly massacre and the capture of Shusha, and examines the roles of figures like Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan. Lucas explains the 1994 Bishkek Protocol ceasefire and the frozen conflict that left Nagorno-Karabakh under ethnic Armenian control while remaining internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The episode also touches on the impact of the war on civilians and the shifting alliances with Turkey and Russia. Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of one of the Caucasus' most intractable conflicts and its lasting legacy in the 2020 war. #NagornoKarabakh #Azerbaijan #Armenia #SovietUnion #Caucasus #Khojaly #Shusha #BishkekProtocol #FrozenConflict #IlhamAliyev #RobertKocharyan #War #1990s #History #FexingoHistory #CaucasusHistory #EthnicConflict #Stalin Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • The Caucasian Albanian Church: Azerbaijan's Forgotten Christian Legacy

    The Caucasian Albanian Church: Azerbaijan's Forgotten Christian Legacy
    Jul 2 2026
    Before Islam, before the oil boom, before the khans — Azerbaijan was home to one of the earliest Christian kingdoms: Caucasian Albania. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the fascinating story of the Albanian Apostolic Church, from its legendary founding by the Apostle Bartholomew to its absorption into the Armenian Apostolic Church. They discuss the unique alphabet created by Mesrop Mashtots, the ruins of the Kish Church in Shaki, the role of the Albanian Church in resisting Sassanid Zoroastrian pressure, and the mysterious 'Albanian' monastery at Gandzasar. They also touch on the modern controversies over heritage and identity in Nagorno-Karabakh. A little-known chapter that reshapes how we see the Caucasus. #CaucasianAlbania #AlbanianApostolicChurch #KishChurch #Gandzasar #MesropMashtots #CaucasianAlbanianAlphabet #AzerbaijanHistory #ChristianityInCaucasus #SassanidEmpire #NagornoKarabakh #Shaki #EarlyChristianity #Udih #ChurchHistory #Caucasus #History #FexingoHistory #ForgottenKingdoms Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • The Janissaries of Baku: Azerbaijan's Muslim Warriors in the Russian Empire

    The Janissaries of Baku: Azerbaijan's Muslim Warriors in the Russian Empire
    Jul 1 2026
    Before the oil boom, before the revolution, Baku was the front line of a forgotten war: the Russo-Persian wars of the early 19th century. This episode follows the story of the 'Janissaries of Baku' — a corps of Muslim warriors who fought for the Russian Empire against their co-religionists in Qajar Iran. We meet figures like General Mirza Fatali Akhundov, the Baku-born playwright who served as a translator in the Russian army, and explore the little-known Battle of Baku in 1806, when Russian forces under General Tsitsianov besieged the city. Why did Baku's khan, Huseyn Quli Khan, reject Persian suzerainty? How did the fall of Baku to Russia reshape the Caspian's trade routes? And what happened to the city's Armenian and Persian merchant communities after the conquest? We also uncover the story of the 'Baku Janissaries' — a unit of local Muslim soldiers who guarded the Russian border against Persian raids — and their eventual disbandment after the Treaty of Turkmenchay. This is a story of shifting loyalties, imperial frontiers, and the birth of modern Azerbaijan's multi-ethnic identity. #Baku #RussoPersianWars #Azerbaijan #Caucasus #Qajar #RussianEmpire #Janissaries #MirzaFataliAkhundov #HuseynQuliKhan #Tsitsianov #BattleofBaku1806 #TreatyofTurkmenchay #Caspian #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast #19thCentury #IslamicHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • The Fire That Built a Nation: Azerbaijan's Ateshgah and Zoroastrian Legacy

    The Fire That Built a Nation: Azerbaijan's Ateshgah and Zoroastrian Legacy
    Jul 1 2026
    Before oil transformed Baku, there was fire. This episode takes Lucas and Luna to the Ateshgah of Surakhany — the Zoroastrian fire temple that drew pilgrims from India and Persia for centuries. They explore how the Absheron Peninsula's natural gas vents made it a sacred site long before the Nobel brothers arrived. Lucas explains the temple's architecture, the syncretic mix of Zoroastrian and Hindu traditions, and how the site fell into decline after the oil boom. They also touch on the legacy of fire in Azerbaijani identity, from the Flame Towers to the national motto. A contemplative look at a spiritual landmark overshadowed by black gold. #Ateshgah #Surakhany #Zoroastrianism #Baku #Azerbaijan #FireTemple #Absheron #Caspian #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast #Caucasus #SilkRoad #Hindu #Sikh #OilHistory #FlameTowers #PersianCulture Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins