Tsar Paul I: The Mad Romanov Who Was Strangled in His Bedroom

Paul I of Russia reigned from 1796 to 1801, a brief and turbulent period that ended with his assassination in the Mikhailovsky Castle. This episode explores Paul's erratic policies, his obsession with drill and military parades, his break with his mother Catherine the Great's legacy, his alliance with Napoleon, and the conspiracy led by Count von der Pahlen and the Zubov brothers that culminated in his strangling. We examine how Paul's madness shaped the succession crisis that haunted the Romanovs and how his son Alexander I was complicit in the murder. The episode also touches on Paul's chivalric fantasies, his role as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, and the strange legacy of his reign as a cautionary tale of autocratic power unchecked. #PaulI #Romanovs #RussianHistory #Assassination #MikhailovskyCastle #CatherineTheGreat #AlexanderI #Napoleon #KnightsHospitaller #CountVonDerPahlen #Zubov #PalaceCoup #MadTsar #StPetersburg #18thCentury #19thCentury #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo