Paul I: Russia's Mad Emperor and the Malta Obsession

Tsar Paul I, son of Catherine the Great, was one of Russia's most eccentric and tragic rulers. This episode explores his brief, chaotic reign (1796–1801) through a specific lens: his obsessive fascination with the Knights Hospitaller, which led him to become Grand Master of the Order of Malta. We discuss Paul's childhood trauma under his mother's shadow, his chivalric fantasies, the bizarre diplomatic fallout with Britain over Malta, and how his erratic rule culminated in a palace coup. Along the way, we meet Mikhailovsky Castle — a paranoid fortress built like a medieval castle — and the conspirators who strangled Paul in his bedroom. This is not a story of reform or war, but of a man who tried to escape reality by living in a romantic past, and whose murder cleared the path for Alexander I and the Napoleonic Wars. #PaulI #MikhailovskyCastle #KnightsHospitaller #OrderOfMalta #RussianHistory #Romanovs #PalaceCoup #TsarPaul #CatherineTheGreat #AlexanderI #NapoleonicWars #SaintPetersburg #Gatchina #Malta #Chivalry #RussianEmpire #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo