In 1741, a 32-year-old woman seized the Russian throne with the help of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, overthrowing the infant emperor Ivan VI. Elizabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great, ruled for twenty years, yet her reign is often remembered for its glittering balls and her personal vanity. But behind the court splendor, Elizabeth made decisions that reshaped Russia's place in Europe. She continued her father's building of St. Petersburg, abolished the death penalty in Russia, and waged a devastating war that brought Russian troops to Berlin. She founded Moscow University and the first public theater, and she confronted a conspiracy that touched the heart of her court. This episode explores how a woman dismissed as a frivolous party-giver proved to be one of the Romanov dynasty's most consequential rulers. Lucas and Luna trace Elizabeth's path from palace coup to the Seven Years' War, examine the role of her coup partner Mikhail Vorontsov, her secret marriage to Alexei Razumovsky, and the dark mystery of the 'prisoner of Shlisselburg' that haunted her reign.
#ElizabethPetrovna #Romanov #RussianEmpire #PalaceCoup #SevenYearsWar #StPetersburg #MoscowUniversity #AbolitionOfDeathPenalty #PreobrazhenskyRegiment #IvanVI #Shlisselburg #CatherineTheGreat #18thCentury #RussianHistory #EasternEurope #FexingoHistory #HistoryPodcast #History
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