Paul I: The Cursed Emperor and His Palace Coup episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 22, 2026 · 5 MIN

Paul I: The Cursed Emperor and His Palace Coup

from The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History · host Fexingo

Tsar Paul I, son of Catherine the Great, reigned only five years before being strangled in his own bedroom. This episode unpacks the strange, tragic story of Russia's most paranoid emperor: his obsessive military drills, his quixotic crusade against the French Revolution, his brutal crackdown on the nobility, and the conspiracy that ended his life. We explore the unfinished Mikhailovsky Castle—built like a fortress to protect him—and the betrayal by his own son, the future Alexander I. Was Paul truly mad, or just a reformer ahead of his time? We examine the Pavlovian reaction that followed his death: the official story of 'apoplexy' and the nobles who celebrated. This is a tale of a Romanov who tried to break the system and was crushed by it. #PaulI #RussianHistory #RomanovDynasty #MikhailovskyCastle #PalaceCoup #Tsar #CatherineTheGreat #AlexanderI #StPetersburg #NapoleonicWars #RussianNobility #Assassination #18thCentury #19thCentury #RussianEmpire #Despotism #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

Tsar Paul I, son of Catherine the Great, reigned only five years before being strangled in his own bedroom. This episode unpacks the strange, tragic story of Russia's most paranoid emperor: his obsessive military drills, his quixotic crusade against the French Revolution, his brutal crackdown on the nobility, and the conspiracy that ended his life. We explore the unfinished Mikhailovsky Castle—built like a fortress to protect him—and the betrayal by his own son, the future Alexander I. Was Paul truly mad, or just a reformer ahead of his time? We examine the Pavlovian reaction that followed his death: the official story of 'apoplexy' and the nobles who celebrated. This is a tale of a Romanov who tried to break the system and was crushed by it. #PaulI #RussianHistory #RomanovDynasty #MikhailovskyCastle #PalaceCoup #Tsar #CatherineTheGreat #AlexanderI #StPetersburg #NapoleonicWars #RussianNobility #Assassination #18thCentury #19thCentury #RussianEmpire #Despotism #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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Paul I: The Cursed Emperor and His Palace Coup

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This episode was published on June 22, 2026.

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Tsar Paul I, son of Catherine the Great, reigned only five years before being strangled in his own bedroom. This episode unpacks the strange, tragic story of Russia's most paranoid emperor: his obsessive military drills, his quixotic crusade against...

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