Russia
11 episodes
Anna Akhmatova
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the poetry of Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966) whose work was banned under Stalin and who lived under constant threat of the gulags.
18 January 2018
Featuring: Katharine Hodgson, Alexandra Harrington, Michael Basker
Chekhov
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the great Russian writer Anton Chekhov.
14 March 2013
Featuring: Catriona Kelly, Cynthia Marsh, Rosamund Bartlett
CulturePositivistsModernist theatre19th-century non-fiction writers from the Russian Empire20th-century deaths from tuberculosisRussian atheists19th-century dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire, 19th-century short story writers from the Russian Empire, 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights, 20th-century Russian short story writers, Novelists from the Russian Empire, Philanthropists from the Russian Empire, Russian male dramatists and playwrights, Russian male novelists, Russian opinion journalists, Russian-language writersBurials at Novodevichy Cemetery19th century20th centuryLanguageRussiaLenin
Melvyn Bragg investigates what drove the Soviet leader Lenin, and enabled him to develop a model to export communism and build an original political system that remained intact for over seventy years.
16 March 2000
Featuring: Robert Service, Vitali Vitaliev
Philosophy19th-century philosophers from the Russian Empire, 20th-century Russian philosophers, Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Switzerland, Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom, Russian communists, Russian revolutionariesSocialist feministsRussian male journalistsAnti-monarchistsMarxist theorists20th-century atheists19th-century pseudonymous writersVladimir Lenin19th-century atheistsLeaders who took power by coupAnti-nationalistsCritics of religionsPolitical philosophersAnti-imperialistsRussian atheistsEmigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany, Political party foundersAtheist philosophersNobility from the Russian Empire20th-century pseudonymous writers19th century20th centuryRussiaNapoleon's Retreat from Moscow
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, thought he was victorious yet had to retreat, losing most of his army and, soon after, his empire.
19 September 2019
Featuring: Janet Hartley, Michael Rowe, Michael Rapport
Peter Kropotkin
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and ideas of the Russian prince who became an anarchist and who argued that mutual aid was the key to evolution not survival of the fittest
24 February 2022
Featuring: Ruth Kinna, Lee Dugatkin, Simon Dixon
History19th-century essayistsHistorians of the French RevolutionAnti-consumeristsMembers of the International Workingmen's AssociationHuman geographers19th-century non-fiction writers from the Russian EmpireRussian anarchists20th-century atheistsSocial philosophers19th-century philosophers from the Russian Empire, 20th-century Russian philosophers, Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Switzerland, Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom, Russian communists, Russian revolutionaries20th-century essayists19th-century atheistsPhilosophy writersRussian atheistsBurials at Novodevichy CemeteryAnarchist writers19th century20th centuryFranceRussiaRosa Luxemburg
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Rosa Luxemburg, 'Red Rosa', a leading revolutionary and agitator in Poland and Germany until her arrest and murder in the Spartacus Revolt 1919.
13 April 2017
Featuring: Jacqueline Rose, Mark Jones, Nadine Rossol
HistoryGerman women philosophersEuropean democratic socialistsGerman revolutionaries19th-century German journalistsJewish socialists20th-century German women writers19th-century German writersGerman Marxist writersMarxist theoristsGerman Ashkenazi JewsGerman anti-capitalists, German socialist feminists, Jewish communistsCommunist women writers19th-century German philosophers20th-century German philosophersJewish philosophersEmigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany, Political party founders19th century20th centuryGermanyRussiaThe Boxer Rebellion
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Boxer Rebellion, when the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists purged China of foreign influences in the summer of 1900.
19 March 2009
Featuring: Frances Wood, Rana Mitter, R. G. Tiedemann
HistoryWars involving the United KingdomWars involving JapanPersecution of ChristiansWars involving the Habsburg monarchyUnited States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuriesWars involving the United StatesEight Banners, Rebellions in the Qing dynastyWars involving FranceWars involving the Russian Empire19th centuryChinaFranceRussiaThe Emancipation of the Serfs
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Tsar Alexander II's 1861 decree that freed 30 million Russians from serfdom, an act of reform that followed Russia's defeat in the Crimean War.
17 May 2018
Featuring: Sarah Hudspith, Simon Dixon, Shane O'Rourke
The Russo-Japanese War
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Japan's unexpected victory over Russia in 1904-5 which gave Japan a new status in the world and pushed Russia into revolution.
1 April 2021
Featuring: Simon Dixon, Naoko Shimazu, Oleg Benesch
Tolstoy
Melvyn Bragg discusses the life and times of the 19th century Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, whose novels such as War and Peace gave expression to the compelling moral and social questions of their day.
25 April 2002
Featuring: A. N. Wilson, Catriona Kelly, Sarah Hudspith
Philosophers of cultureRussian anarchistsPhilosophers of mindPhilosophers of religion19th-century dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire, 19th-century short story writers from the Russian Empire, 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights, 20th-century Russian short story writers, Novelists from the Russian Empire, Philanthropists from the Russian Empire, Russian male dramatists and playwrights, Russian male novelists, Russian opinion journalists, Russian-language writersAnarchist writersRussian male journalistsChristian vegetariansWriters about activism and social changeCorresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesEpistemologistsPhilosophers of education19th-century essayistsMetaphysiciansPolitical philosophersHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesGeorgistsPhilosophers of history19th-century non-fiction writers from the Russian EmpireOntologistsSocial philosophersChristian anarchists, Nonviolence advocates20th-century letter writers20th-century essayistsMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsPhilosophers of literature19th century20th centuryLanguageMedicineRussiaTsar Alexander II's assassination
Melvyn Bragg discusses the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881, by a gang of Russian terrorists, which led to start of the revolutionary era in Russia.
6 January 2005
Featuring: Orlando Figes, Dominic Lieven, Catriona Kelly
