How to Invent a Country

Misha Glenny returns to the Balkans to report on the birth and death of Yugoslavia.With contributions from Lea Ypi, Radina Vucetic, Ivan Veyvoda, Tim Heneage, Jelena Dureinovic, plus former soldier turned writer Faruk Sehic in Sarajevo. Includes archive of Fitzroy Maclean and Steed Wickham, plus an interview with the scientific director of the Jewish Museum in Thessaloniki, Xenia Eleftheriou. This is series eighteen of The Invention of ... on Radio 4, following on from previous visits to Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil and beyond.The producer is Miles Warde.

Misha Glenny returns to the Balkans to report on the birth and death of Yugoslavia.With contributions from Lea Ypi, Radina Vucetic, Ivan Veyvoda, Tim Heneage, Jelena Dureinovic, plus former soldier turned writer Faruk Sehic in Sarajevo. Includes archive of Fitzroy Maclean and Steed Wickham, plus an interview with the scientific director of the Jewish Museum in Thessaloniki, Xenia Eleftheriou. This is series eighteen of The Invention of ... on Radio 4, following on from previous visits to Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil and beyond.The producer is Miles Warde.

Churchill may have said that the Balkans produce more history than it can consume, but in this episode Misha Glenny and Miles Warde head out to discover if it's true. This is a road trip through Bosnia, Belgrade and northern Greece. The aim? To explore the collapse of the Ottoman empire and see how it fed into the start of World War One. There's also a also pause for sausage in Serbia, while they find themselves in a massive street protest in Thessaloniki. This is history from the ground, and features contributions from Dubravka Stojanovic, Ivan Krastev, Maria Todorova, James Heneage and Hannah Lucinda Smith, author of Hinterlands. And at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle they meet Dr Konstantinos Papanikolaou and Vangelis Kansizoglou.This is series eighteen of The Invention of ... on Radio 4, following on from previous visits to Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil and beyond. Misha Glenny is the author of McMafia and The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers. The producer for BBC Studios is Miles Warde

Churchill may have said that the Balkans produce more history than it can consume, but in this episode Misha Glenny and Miles Warde head out to discover if it's true. This is a road trip through Bosnia, Belgrade and northern Greece. The aim? To explore the collapse of the Ottoman empire and see how it fed into the start of World War One. There's also a also pause for sausage in Serbia, while they find themselves in a massive street protest in Thessaloniki. This is history from the ground, and features contributions from Dubravka Stojanovic, Ivan Krastev, Maria Todorova, James Heneage and Hannah Lucinda Smith, author of Hinterlands. And at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle they meet Dr Konstantinos Papanikolaou and Vangelis Kansizoglou.This is series eighteen of The Invention of ... on Radio 4, following on from previous visits to Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil and beyond. Misha Glenny is the author of McMafia and The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers. The producer for BBC Studios is Miles Warde

June 28 1914 - a young Bosnian on a street corner in Sarajevo fired a shot that triggered World War One. Why is this region so unstable, and what lessons can we learn from that event. Misha Glenny was a famous reporter during the wars of the 1990s, well-placed to find answers in a region he's travelled for years. Is the violence the fault of the people who live here, or are there bigger, outside forces at work?This is the latest from the team behind The Invention of ... series which has recently been to China, Russia, Turkey and Hungary. Much of it is recorded on location, and contributors include Vesna Goldsworthy, Maria Todorova and Tim Butcher, author of The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Bought the World to War. Misha Glenny is the outgoing rector of the IWM in Vienna and presenter of In Our Time. His reporting from Yugoslavia won a Sony Gold in 1993.The producer for BBC Studios is Miles Warde. This is series eighteen and other contributors include Hannah Lucinda-Smith, Ivan Krastev, James Heneage, Lea Ypi, Faruk Sehic and Dubravka Stojanovic. Locations include Sarajevo, Belgrade and Thessaloniki in northern Greece and the team occasionally pause for lunch.

June 28 1914 - a young Bosnian on a street corner in Sarajevo fired a shot that triggered World War One. Why is this region so unstable, and what lessons can we learn from that event. Misha Glenny was a famous reporter during the wars of the 1990s, well-placed to find answers in a region he's travelled for years. Is the violence the fault of the people who live here, or are there bigger, outside forces at work?This is the latest from the team behind The Invention of ... series which has recently been to China, Russia, Turkey and Hungary. Much of it is recorded on location, and contributors include Vesna Goldsworthy, Maria Todorova and Tim Butcher, author of The Trigger: Hunting the Assassin Who Bought the World to War. Misha Glenny is the outgoing rector of the IWM in Vienna and presenter of In Our Time. His reporting from Yugoslavia won a Sony Gold in 1993.The producer for BBC Studios is Miles Warde. This is series eighteen and other contributors include Hannah Lucinda-Smith, Ivan Krastev, James Heneage, Lea Ypi, Faruk Sehic and Dubravka Stojanovic. Locations include Sarajevo, Belgrade and Thessaloniki in northern Greece and the team occasionally pause for lunch.

It's easy to forget how entwined Hungary has been in some of the worst events of the last 100 years – losers in the first world war, the country initially sided with the Nazis in the second, tried to change its mind, was invaded by the Germans then taken over by the Soviets, then tried to kick out the Soviets … and failed. What, asks Misha Glenny, are the consequences of this history now, and how does the Hungarian government of Viktor Orban view the Russians today. Recorded on location at the scenes of some of the fiercest fighting in 1956."The Hungarian revolution and the Prague spring 12 years later - these were events that had a huge impact on me, and I have to say gave me a romantic infection for Hungarians and their struggles which has never entirely left me."With contributions from Adam LeBor, author of The Last Days of Budapest: Spies, Nazis, Rescuers and Resistance; plus Paul Lendvai, Tibor Fischer, Simon Winder nd Victor Sebestyen formerly of the FT and writer of Budapest: Between East and West.The producer for BBC Studios Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde

It's easy to forget how entwined Hungary has been in some of the worst events of the last 100 years – losers in the first world war, the country initially sided with the Nazis in the second, tried to change its mind, was invaded by the Germans then taken over by the Soviets, then tried to kick out the Soviets … and failed. What, asks Misha Glenny, are the consequences of this history now, and how does the Hungarian government of Viktor Orban view the Russians today. Recorded on location at the scenes of some of the fiercest fighting in 1956."The Hungarian revolution and the Prague spring 12 years later - these were events that had a huge impact on me, and I have to say gave me a romantic infection for Hungarians and their struggles which has never entirely left me."With contributions from Adam LeBor, author of The Last Days of Budapest: Spies, Nazis, Rescuers and Resistance; plus Paul Lendvai, Tibor Fischer, Simon Winder nd Victor Sebestyen formerly of the FT and writer of Budapest: Between East and West.The producer for BBC Studios Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde

"Brussels is abusing its power," said Victor Orban, "just as Vienna once did." The date, March 15 2025 - this year - but the reference was to March 1848 when Hungary rose up against its Austrian overlords, a great moment for many Hungarians today. Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde were in Budapest when Viktor Orban made his speech, looking for the source of that revolution, who turned out to be a poet, Sandor Petofi. So is Viktor Orban right to draw parallels between then and now, or is he using history as a political tool? With contributions from Paul Lendvai, Andras Gero, Viktor Sebesteyen, Kamilla Marosi and Krisztina Rohaly, a school teacher in Budapest.Further reading: The Hungarians: A Thousands Years of Victory in Defeat by Paul Lendvai Under The Frog and How to Rule the World by Tibor Fischer Budapest: Between East and West by Victor Sebestyen

"Brussels is abusing its power," said Victor Orban, "just as Vienna once did." The date, March 15 2025 - this year - but the reference was to March 1848 when Hungary rose up against its Austrian overlords, a great moment for many Hungarians today. Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde were in Budapest when Viktor Orban made his speech, looking for the source of that revolution, who turned out to be a poet, Sandor Petofi. So is Viktor Orban right to draw parallels between then and now, or is he using history as a political tool? With contributions from Paul Lendvai, Andras Gero, Viktor Sebesteyen, Kamilla Marosi and Krisztina Rohaly, a school teacher in Budapest.Further reading: The Hungarians: A Thousands Years of Victory in Defeat by Paul Lendvai Under The Frog and How to Rule the World by Tibor Fischer Budapest: Between East and West by Victor Sebestyen

Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde travel from Vienna to Budapest and beyond to find out how Hungarian hardman Viktor Orban stays in power. With an election coming up next year, now seemed a good time to find out how he uses history in his campaigns, beginning with a battle his country lost to the Ottomans back in 1526."There are going to be three dates that matter in our series - 1526 and the battle of Mohacs; 1848, when the Hungarians rebelled against their Austrian overlords; and 1956, when anti Soviet protestors stood up to the Russian Bear … and were crushed. Three dates, three defeats, powerful moments in any nation’s history for politicians to exploit."This is the thirteenth in the international How to Invent a Country series that asks where countries come from, and what are the stories people tell themselves about their past. Misha Glenny is the award-winning author of McMafia and currently head of the IWM in Vienna. With contributions from Paul Lendvai. Reka Kinga Papp, Simon Winder, Kamilla Marosi, Tibor Fischer and Nick Thorpe, plus Norbert Papp on location near Mohacs. "The actual events of the battle don't matter - history is just raw material for politicians," Papp says.The producer for BBC Studios Audio is Miles Warde.

Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde travel from Vienna to Budapest and beyond to find out how Hungarian hardman Viktor Orban stays in power. With an election coming up next year, now seemed a good time to find out how he uses history in his campaigns, beginning with a battle his country lost to the Ottomans back in 1526."There are going to be three dates that matter in our series - 1526 and the battle of Mohacs; 1848, when the Hungarians rebelled against their Austrian overlords; and 1956, when anti Soviet protestors stood up to the Russian Bear … and were crushed. Three dates, three defeats, powerful moments in any nation’s history for politicians to exploit."This is the thirteenth in the international How to Invent a Country series that asks where countries come from, and what are the stories people tell themselves about their past. Misha Glenny is the award-winning author of McMafia and currently head of the IWM in Vienna. With contributions from Paul Lendvai. Reka Kinga Papp, Simon Winder, Kamilla Marosi, Tibor Fischer and Nick Thorpe, plus Norbert Papp on location near Mohacs. "The actual events of the battle don't matter - history is just raw material for politicians," Papp says.The producer for BBC Studios Audio is Miles Warde.

At the beginning of this year the president of the Chinese People's Republic, Xi Jinping, claimed that people living on both sides of the Taiwan Straits should reunite "and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation". But is Taiwan really a part of China, and could this question lead to war? Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde have been to the capital Taipei and also Tainan City in the south to find out about their relationship with the Chinese mainland. "I've obviously been following the situation in Ukraine, and it strikes me that before our eyes we're seeing the rapid development of a new Ukrainian consciousness and national identity. What's struck me about coming here to Taiwan is the same process is underway." Misha GlennyContributors include Amanda Hsiao senior analyst of the Crisis Group and Chris Buckley, the chief China correspondent for the New York Times now relocated to Taipei. Plus you'll hear from long time resident of Taiwan Chris Taylor, author of the Lonely Planet Guide to Tibet. "All Xi Jinping understands is complete control .... he's given up on what the Taiwanese call the silver bullet, promises of great trade opportunities and get rich, join us. Nobody's buying that. So the only way he's going to get it is by force of some kind."Taiwan is episode 57 of How to Invent a Country on BBC Sounds, the series that has previously travelled to Germany, Brazil, Turkey and Russia. Misha Glenny is a former Central Europe correspondent for the BBC and the author of McMafia. The producer for BBC Studios Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde.

Misha Glenny and Miles Warde travel east to tell the story of China - what it is and where it came from."Twentieth century China is the most extraordinary place, and Mao is at the heart of nearly all of it."With the help of Tania Branigan, Red Memory: Living, Remembering and Forgetting China's Cultural Revolution; plus Chris Buckley, Chief China correspondent of the New York Times, Frances Wood, Paul French, Ian Johnson, the author of Sparks, and Jonathan Fenby, former editor of the South China Morning Post. The producer for BBC studios is Miles Warde.

"You could do a whole programme on why you shouldn't build a capital in Beijing. It's a Mongolian camel camp." Paul FrenchBeijing means capital of the north, and was first used by the Ming to distinguish it from Nanjng, capital of the south. Home to the Forbidden City where the emperors lived, the centre had a tortuous relationship with many other parts of China. By the end of the Qing dynasty this relationship had totally broken down, but what was going to replace the old system? Step forward Dr Sun Yat-sen, professional republican revolutionary.Contributors include Jonathan Fenby, former editor of the South China Post and author of the Penguin History of Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power; Professor Julia Lovell, whose books include The Great Wall and Maoism: A Global History; and also Frances Wood, author of No Dogs and Not Many Chinese, and Paul French, Midnight in Peking.This is episode three of The Invention of China and episode 57 of How to Invent a Country on BBC Sounds. The presenter is Misha Glenny, the producer for BBC Studios is Miles Warde.

Britain was late in its contacts with China and the Qing dynasty - the Portuguese, the Dutch and the Spanish had all headed east long before Lord McCartney's embassy tried to establish a formal relationship in 1792/3. Although it failed, this mission is famous for one thing - whether the British envoy did or did not kowtow to the Chinese Emperor. So began a fractious, ultimately shameful century for Anglo-Chinese relations. Travelling to Hong Kong, taken by the British following the First Opium War, Misha Glenny and Miles Warde find a city still marked by its colonial heritage, but also increasingly under the thumb of its new masters in Beijing.Contributors include Hong Kong activist, Nathan Law; Henrietta Harrison, author of The Perils of Interpreting and Professor of Chinese history; and Frances Wood, author of No Dogs and Not Many Chinese History: Treaty Port Life in ChinaThis is episode 56 of How to Invent a Country on BBC Sounds and is a BBC Studios production

Britain was late in its contacts with China and the Qing dynasty - the Portuguese, the Dutch and the Spanish had all headed east long before Lord McCartney's embassy tried to establish a formal relationship in 1792/3. Although it failed, this mission is famous for one thing - whether the British envoy did or did not kowtow to the Chinese Emperor. So began a fractious, ultimately shameful century for Anglo-Chinese relations. Travelling to Hong Kong, taken by the British following the First Opium War, Misha Glenny and Miles Warde find a city still marked by its colonial heritage, but also increasingly under the thumb of its new masters in Beijing.Contributors include Hong Kong activist, Nathan Law; Henrietta Harrison, author of The Perils of Interpreting and Professor of Chinese history; and Frances Wood, author of No Dogs and Not Many Chinese History: Treaty Port Life in ChinaThis is episode 56 of How to Invent a Country on BBC Sounds and is a BBC Studios production

Misha Glenny and Miles Warde travel east to tell the story of China - what it is and where it came from."The empire long united must divide, long divided must unite. Thus it has ever been." The opening lines of a fourteenth century novel about the rise and fall of China's multiple dynasties, history explained in a couple of brilliant lines. But what is China and where did it come from?This is episode 55 of How to Invent a Country on BBC Sounds, recorded on location and opening in Taiwan. "The reunification of the historical motherland is an inevitability," said the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on New Year's day. China is an empire, and this is a president asserting central control - in Xinjiang, in Hong Kong, and now Taiwan appears to be in his sights. Control has been the ambition since the rule of the First Emperor in 221 BCE, but areas on the periphery continue to resist.With contributions from Frances Wood, author of The First Emperor; Steve Tsang, The Political Thought of Xi Jinping; Amanda Hsiao, senior China analyst for the Crisis Group; Nathan Law, exiled activist, Hong Kong Umbrella Movement; Chris Buckley, Chief China correspondent of the New York Times now based in Taiwan; plus Paul French, Linda Jaivin, Tania Branigan and Ian Johnson, author of Sparks."What we do is explain where countries come from, and then unpick the stories governments use to stay in charge. They weren't always there, those lines on the map - everything keeps changing. And China has surged and collapsed, expanded and shrunk, as much as anywhere we've been." Misha GlennyPresenter Misha Glenny is the author of McMafia and a former Central Europe correspondent for the BBC. The producer in Bristol is Miles WardeFurther reading:Frances Wood, the First Emperor of China and No Dogs and Not Many Chinese Tania Branigan, Red Memory Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung, The Political Thought of Xi Jinping Linda Jaivin, The Shortest History of China Ian Johnson, Sparks - China's Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future Paul French, Midnight in Peking and City of Devils

Misha Glenny and Miles Warde travel east to tell the story of China - what it is and where it came from."The empire long united must divide, long divided must unite. Thus it has ever been." The opening lines of a fourteenth century novel about the rise and fall of China's multiple dynasties, history explained in a couple of brilliant lines. But what is China and where did it come from?This is episode 55 of How to Invent a Country on BBC Sounds, recorded on location and opening in Taiwan. "The reunification of the historical motherland is an inevitability," said the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on New Year's day. China is an empire, and this is a president asserting central control - in Xinjiang, in Hong Kong, and now Taiwan appears to be in his sights. Control has been the ambition since the rule of the First Emperor in 221 BCE, but areas on the periphery continue to resist.With contributions from Frances Wood, author of The First Emperor; Steve Tsang, The Political Thought of Xi Jinping; Amanda Hsiao, senior China analyst for the Crisis Group; Nathan Law, exiled activist, Hong Kong Umbrella Movement; Chris Buckley, Chief China correspondent of the New York Times now based in Taiwan; plus Paul French, Linda Jaivin, Tania Branigan and Ian Johnson, author of Sparks."What we do is explain where countries come from, and then unpick the stories governments use to stay in charge. They weren't always there, those lines on the map - everything keeps changing. And China has surged and collapsed, expanded and shrunk, as much as anywhere we've been." Misha GlennyPresenter Misha Glenny is the author of McMafia and a former Central Europe correspondent for the BBC. The producer in Bristol is Miles WardeFurther reading:Frances Wood, the First Emperor of China and No Dogs and Not Many Chinese Tania Branigan, Red Memory Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung, The Political Thought of Xi Jinping Linda Jaivin, The Shortest History of China Ian Johnson, Sparks - China's Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future Paul French, Midnight in Peking and City of Devils

A bonus episode with Hannah Lucinda Smith, Christopher de Bellaigue and Misha Glenny.

Misha Glenny and Miles Warde take a ride over the Bosphorus to see the old Hyderpasha railway station - the Asian bulkhead of the Berlin to Baghdad railway which opened in 1909. The Ottoman alliance with Germany had implications for the Middle East that are still being felt to this day."This was a place of intrigue, spies and glamour. For four and half centuries Istanbul had been the centre of the empire, right up until the end of the first world war. At which point the empire was divided up, broken up, partitioned into mandates – Syria and Lebanon under the French, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq to the British, this based on the famous Sykes-Picot line agreed in 1916. The Ottoman empire had joined the wrong side in the war, and was going to pay. You could say this region is still paying, such has been the failure of those lines drawn in the sand."Contributors include Soli Ozel of Kadir Has University; Eugene Rogan, author of The Fall of the Ottomans; and Suzy Hansen whose Notes on a Foreign Country was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

Misha Glenny and Miles Warde take a ride over the Bosphorus to see the old Hyderpasha railway station - the Asian bulkhead of the Berlin to Baghdad railway which opened in 1909. The Ottoman alliance with Germany had implications for the Middle East that are still being felt to this day."This was a place of intrigue, spies and glamour. For four and half centuries Istanbul had been the centre of the empire, right up until the end of the first world war. At which point the empire was divided up, broken up, partitioned into mandates – Syria and Lebanon under the French, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq to the British, this based on the famous Sykes-Picot line agreed in 1916. The Ottoman empire had joined the wrong side in the war, and was going to pay. You could say this region is still paying, such has been the failure of those lines drawn in the sand."Contributors include Soli Ozel of Kadir Has University; Eugene Rogan, author of The Fall of the Ottomans; and Suzy Hansen whose Notes on a Foreign Country was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

On September 12 1683, an army led by Kara Mustafa Pasha, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman empire, lined up on a hill just outside Vienna. The Ottomans had been besieging the city for almost two months. This wasn’t the first time they’d threatened Vienna. Europe’s fate appeared to hang in the balance once again. Misha Glenny - who now lives in Vienna - traces the rise and fall of the Ottoman empire with location recordings from the two palaces of Topkapi and Dolmabahce on the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Contributors to the series include Hannah Lucinda Smith, author Erdogan Rising; Professor Marc David Baer, author of The Ottomans; the Istanbul based writer Kaya Genc; Martyn Rady, author of books on the Habsburgs and The Middle Kingdoms; and Christopher de Bellaigue, former Tehran correspondent and author of The Lion House. Misha Glenny is rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and author of McMafia. The producer in Bristol is Miles WardeFurther reading:Suzy Hansen, Notes on a Foreign Country Norman Stone, Turkey (a short history) Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul Martyn Rady, The Middle Kingdoms Christopher de Bellaigue, The Lion House Eugene Rogan, The Fall of the Ottomans Soli Ozel, The History of Turkey's Future (in progress) Kaya Genc, The Lion and the Nightingale Hannah Lucinda Smith, Erdogan Rising Mark Mazower, Salonica, city of ghosts

On September 12 1683, an army led by Kara Mustafa Pasha, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman empire, lined up on a hill just outside Vienna. The Ottomans had been besieging the city for almost two months. This wasn’t the first time they’d threatened Vienna. Europe’s fate appeared to hang in the balance once again. Misha Glenny - who now lives in Vienna - traces the rise and fall of the Ottoman empire with location recordings from the two palaces of Topkapi and Dolmabahce on the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Contributors to the series include Hannah Lucinda Smith, author Erdogan Rising; Professor Marc David Baer, author of The Ottomans; the Istanbul based writer Kaya Genc; Martyn Rady, author of books on the Habsburgs and The Middle Kingdoms; and Christopher de Bellaigue, former Tehran correspondent and author of The Lion House. Misha Glenny is rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and author of McMafia. The producer in Bristol is Miles WardeFurther reading:Suzy Hansen, Notes on a Foreign Country Norman Stone, Turkey (a short history) Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul Martyn Rady, The Middle Kingdoms Christopher de Bellaigue, The Lion House Eugene Rogan, The Fall of the Ottomans Soli Ozel, The History of Turkey's Future (in progress) Kaya Genc, The Lion and the Nightingale Hannah Lucinda Smith, Erdogan Rising Mark Mazower, Salonica, city of ghosts

When Mehmet the Conqueror arrived in Constantinople, now Istanbul, he turned the main cathedral into a mosque and threatened to move much further west. Christian Europe was terrified. Misha Glenny travels to Istanbul to reveal how Mehmet's empire expanded over the next 100 years - to Iran, to Egypt, right up to the gates of Vienna too. This was the age of mighty sultans, Selim the Grim and Suleiman the Magnificent, who was happy to take the challenge to the catholic Habsburgs. But as modern Turkey prepares to celebrate a hundred years without the Ottomans, how is this period remembered under the government of President Erdogan?This is the fiftieth episode of Misha Glenny and Miles Warde's How to Invent a Country series, which sets out to explain where nations come from, who decides their borders, and what stories the people tell themselves. These programmes are recorded on location in Istanbul, Belgrade and Vienna."All these sultans, they were mythical creatures for us. I really thought they were part of a fictional world because the real history for us was about Ataturk, and in primary school Ottoman history was a foreign country for us." Kaya Genc, novelist and author of The Lion and Nightingale. Other contributors to the series include Judith Herrin, author of Byzantium; Professor Marc David Baer, author of The Ottomans; senior lecturer at Kadir Has University Soli Ozel; Christopher de Bellaigue, author of The Lion House; and Hannah Lucinda Smith whose most recent book is Erdogan Rising: The Battle for the Soul of TurkeyPresenter Misha Glenny is the author of McMafia and a former Central Europe correspondent for the BBC. The producer in Bristol is Miles WardeFurther reading:Suzy Hansen, Notes on a Foreign Country Norman Stone, Turkey (a short history) Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul Martyn Rady, The Middle Kingdoms Christopher de Bellaigue, The Lion House Eugene Rogan, The Fall of the Ottomans Soli Ozel, The History of Turkey's Future (in progress) Kaya Genc, The Lion and the Nightingale Hannah Lucinda Smith, Erdogan Rising Mark Mazower, Salonica, city of ghosts

When Mehmet the Conqueror arrived in Constantinople, now Istanbul, he turned the main cathedral into a mosque and threatened to move much further west. Christian Europe was terrified. Misha Glenny travels to Istanbul to reveal how Mehmet's empire expanded over the next 100 years - to Iran, to Egypt, right up to the gates of Vienna too. This was the age of mighty sultans, Selim the Grim and Suleiman the Magnificent, who was happy to take the challenge to the catholic Habsburgs. But as modern Turkey prepares to celebrate a hundred years without the Ottomans, how is this period remembered under the government of President Erdogan?This is the fiftieth episode of Misha Glenny and Miles Warde's How to Invent a Country series, which sets out to explain where nations come from, who decides their borders, and what stories the people tell themselves. These programmes are recorded on location in Istanbul, Belgrade and Vienna."All these sultans, they were mythical creatures for us. I really thought they were part of a fictional world because the real history for us was about Ataturk, and in primary school Ottoman history was a foreign country for us." Kaya Genc, novelist and author of The Lion and Nightingale. Other contributors to the series include Judith Herrin, author of Byzantium; Professor Marc David Baer, author of The Ottomans; senior lecturer at Kadir Has University Soli Ozel; Christopher de Bellaigue, author of The Lion House; and Hannah Lucinda Smith whose most recent book is Erdogan Rising: The Battle for the Soul of TurkeyPresenter Misha Glenny is the author of McMafia and a former Central Europe correspondent for the BBC. The producer in Bristol is Miles WardeFurther reading:Suzy Hansen, Notes on a Foreign Country Norman Stone, Turkey (a short history) Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul Martyn Rady, The Middle Kingdoms Christopher de Bellaigue, The Lion House Eugene Rogan, The Fall of the Ottomans Soli Ozel, The History of Turkey's Future (in progress) Kaya Genc, The Lion and the Nightingale Hannah Lucinda Smith, Erdogan Rising Mark Mazower, Salonica, city of ghosts

Misha Glenny's final programme on Russia looks at the country's attitude to war, and in particular the great patriotic wars against Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte. With contributions from Antony Beevor, author of Stalingrad; Robert Service, author of the Last Tsar, Kateryna Khinkulova of BBC WS; former ambassador to Moscow Rhodric Braithwaite; and Dominic Lieven, author of Napoleon against Russia.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

The extraordinary tale of how a small fortressed city became the centre of the largest contiguous landmass in the world, presented by Misha Glenny. It was Peter the Great who created a new capital on the Baltic, and Catherine the Great who extended Russian influence south and west. Sweden, Poland, and the Ottomans all feel the expansion of Russia's empire in a century of geopolitical drama. This is the build up to today's war in Ukraine. With contributions from Virginia Rounding, biographer of Catherine the Great; Professor Simon Dixon of UCL; Professor Robert Service, author of The Last Tsar; and Dr Sarah Young of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

Russia's empire was not like that of Britain or France. It was built by expanding across the land, so much more like the United States of America. Presenter Misha Glenny speaks to James Hill of the New York Times about travelling to the edges, and also to Janet Hartley, author of Siberia: A History of the People. Plus further contributions from Ukrainian academic Olesya Khromeychuk; Anna Reid, author of Borderland; and the Tblisi-based journalist, Natalia Antelava, editor-in-chief at Coda Story.The producer for BBC audio in Bristol is Miles Warde.

Countries look so cohesive on the map - sturdy borders, familiar shapes. Don't be misled; they didn't always look like this. This is the story of Russia, biggest contiguous country on the planet, told from the time when it was very small. "In my producer's history textbook it says here, page 18, that Russia as a political entity did not exist." With contributions across the series from Janet Hartley, author of a history of the Volga; Rhodric Braithwaite, former ambassador to Moscow; historian and sociologist, Mischa Gabowitsch; Anthony Beevor; Natalia Antelava; Kateryna Khinkulova; Dominic Lieven; Olesya Khromeychuk; and James Hill of the New York Times.This is the latest in the How to Invent a Country series which has previously been to Poland, Brazil, Germany and the USA. Presenter Misha Glenny is the author of McMafia and former BBC Central Europe correspondent The producer for BBC audio in Bristol is Miles Warde

Misha Glenny's final programme on Russia looks at the country's attitude to war, and in particular the great patriotic wars against Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte. With contributions from Antony Beevor, author of Stalingrad; Robert Service, author of the Last Tsar, Kateryna Khinkulova of BBC WS; former ambassador to Moscow Rhodric Braithwaite; and Dominic Lieven, author of Napoleon against Russia.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

The extraordinary tale of how a small fortressed city became the centre of the largest contiguous landmass in the world, presented by Misha Glenny. It was Peter the Great who created a new capital on the Baltic, and Catherine the Great who extended Russian influence south and west. Sweden, Poland, and the Ottomans all feel the expansion of Russia's empire in a century of geopolitical drama. This is the build up to today's war in Ukraine. With contributions from Virginia Rounding, biographer of Catherine the Great; Professor Simon Dixon of UCL; Professor Robert Service, author of The Last Tsar; and Dr Sarah Young of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

Russia's empire was not like that of Britain or France. It was built by expanding across the land, so much more like the United States of America. Presenter Misha Glenny speaks to James Hill of the New York Times about travelling to the edges, and also to Janet Hartley, author of Siberia: A History of the People. Plus further contributions from Ukrainian academic Olesya Khromeychuk; Anna Reid, author of Borderland; and the Tblisi-based journalist, Natalia Antelava, editor-in-chief at Coda Story.The producer for BBC audio in Bristol is Miles Warde.

Countries look so cohesive on the map - sturdy borders, familiar shapes. Don't be misled; they didn't always look like this. This is the story of Russia, biggest contiguous country on the planet, told from the time when it was very small. "In my producer's history textbook it says here, page 18, that Russia as a political entity did not exist." With contributions across the series from Janet Hartley, author of a history of the Volga; Rhodric Braithwaite, former ambassador to Moscow; historian and sociologist, Mischa Gabowitsch; Anthony Beevor; Natalia Antelava; Kateryna Khinkulova; Dominic Lieven; Olesya Khromeychuk; and James Hill of the New York Times.This is the latest in the How to Invent a Country series which has previously been to Poland, Brazil, Germany and the USA. Presenter Misha Glenny is the author of McMafia and former BBC Central Europe correspondent The producer for BBC audio in Bristol is Miles Warde

With Sir John Eliot, plus exciting news.

Misha Glenny on the extraordinary history of Poland - includes the Miracle on the Vistula in 1920, the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, and how Solidarity set in motion the Soviet Union's collapse.Recorded on location in Warsaw, Krakow and Zamosc, with contributions from Professor Norman Davies and Olesya Khromechuk of the Ukrainian Instititute. The image shows the Warsaw Uprising Monument.The producer for BBC audio in Bristol is Miles Warde

Misha Glenny on the extraordinary history of Poland - includes the Miracle on the Vistula in 1920, the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, and how Solidarity set in motion the Soviet Union's collapse.Recorded on location in Warsaw, Krakow and Zamosc, with contributions from Professor Norman Davies and Olesya Khromechuk of the Ukrainian Instititute. The image shows the Warsaw Uprising Monument.The producer for BBC audio in Bristol is Miles Warde

"The last king of Poland was arrested, put in chains and marched off to Russia." Professor Norman Davies.Between 1795 and 1918 there was no Poland, but the idea of Poland remained extremely strong. Travelling by bus and train around the south east, Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde go in search of what kept Poland alive. With contributions from Professor Natalia Nowakowska and Timothy Garton-Ash. Part of the How to Invent a Country series for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.The image shows the Warsaw Uprising Monument which features in episode three

"The last king of Poland was arrested, put in chains and marched off to Russia." Professor Norman Davies.Between 1795 and 1918 there was no Poland, but the idea of Poland remained extremely strong. Travelling by bus and train around the south east, Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde go in search of what kept Poland alive. With contributions from Professor Natalia Nowakowska and Timothy Garton-Ash. Part of the How to Invent a Country series for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.The image shows the Warsaw Uprising Monument which features in episode three

Long before Putin tried it on, long before the Soviet Union as well, Ukraine was controlled by somebody else - the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the first of a new series, Misha Glenny and Miles Warde travel to eastern Poland to find out more. It's a tale of terrifying power politics, when an ancient European kingdom was sliced up like a cake. Beginning in Krakow, they travel by train and tiny bus in an arc around the south east to the Renaissance city of Zamosc, near the border with Ukraine.With contributions from Norman Davies, Adam Zamoyski, Professor Natalia Nowakowska, Bartek Ziobro of Krakow Explorers and Olesya Khromeychuk of the Ukrainian Institute in London.The image shows the Warsaw Uprising Monument which features in episode three.This is the latest in the How to Invent a Country podcast series which has previously travelled to Germany, the USA, Scandinavia and Brazil.Presenter Misha Glenny is a former BBC Central European correspondent and the author of McMafia.Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Miles Warde

Long before Putin tried it on, long before the Soviet Union as well, Ukraine was controlled by somebody else - the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the first of a new series, Misha Glenny and Miles Warde travel to eastern Poland to find out more. It's a tale of terrifying power politics, when an ancient European kingdom was sliced up like a cake. Beginning in Krakow, they travel by train and tiny bus in an arc around the south east to the Renaissance city of Zamosc, near the border with Ukraine.With contributions from Norman Davies, Adam Zamoyski, Professor Natalia Nowakowska, Bartek Ziobro of Krakow Explorers and Olesya Khromeychuk of the Ukrainian Institute in London.The image shows the Warsaw Uprising Monument which features in episode three.This is the latest in the How to Invent a Country podcast series which has previously travelled to Germany, the USA, Scandinavia and Brazil.Presenter Misha Glenny is a former BBC Central European correspondent and the author of McMafia.Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Miles Warde

Not many people recall the Dominion of Pakistan. It was set up after the British left India in 1947, and there were two territories a thousand miles apart, East and West Pakistan. The only thing connecting them was religion. “We don’t even look the same,” says Qasa Alom, a Birmingham born British Bangladeshi. “They are tall and fair, we are short and darker. My cousin was teased by Pakistanis, who said he smelled of fish.” The liberation war of 1971 was really nasty. The fighting only ended when India came in on the side of Bangladesh, by when millions had been forced to flee. This year Independence Day - March 26 - marks half a century since the country was born.“Why wouldn’t I want to make this programme?” says Qasa Alom. “It’s such a massive story, the birth of the seventh most populous nation in the world, my origin country, a place we hardly ever hear about. The stories of Pakistan and of India, they are frequently on the airwaves but Bangladesh has been left out. Even in my own community, my generation seems to know absolutely nothing about the war, the refugees, the genocide. Why is that?"With contributions from Azmina Siddique and Huma Yusuf, plus members of Qasa's own family including his mum. Qasa Alom hosts the BBC Asian Network's Big Debate and was winner of radio presenter of the year at the Asian media awards 2020. Producer Miles Warde makes the How to Invent a Country series for Radio 4

This is the story of how Norway threw off its patronising title of 'little brother' and emerged as the richest Scandinavian nation of all.In 1814 - just as Napoleon's rampage across Europe was drawing to a close - Sweden took control of Norway. They did this with the permission of the other great powers. Norway did not became a free and sovereign nation until 1905, and during that century they continued to produce timber and fish. But they also produced Ibsen, Grieg and Munch, who painted The Scream; plus Nansen and Amundsen, who beat the British to the South Pole. With contributions from Thomas Hylland Eriksen and Linn Ullman in Oslo, plus Erica Wagner, Dorthe Nors and Jacob Stougaard-Nielsen of UCL.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

This is the story of how Norway threw off its patronising title of 'little brother' and emerged as the richest Scandinavian nation of all.In 1814 - just as Napoleon's rampage across Europe was drawing to a close - Sweden took control of Norway. They did this with the permission of the other great powers. Norway did not became a free and sovereign nation until 1905, and during that century they continued to produce timber and fish. But they also produced Ibsen, Grieg and Munch, who painted The Scream; plus Nansen and Amundsen, who beat the British to the South Pole. With contributions from Thomas Hylland Eriksen and Linn Ullman in Oslo, plus Erica Wagner, Dorthe Nors and Jacob Stougaard-Nielsen of UCL.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

The Swedes are very proud that they have not fought in a war since 1814, but they have not always been the knitwear pacifists they are today. Following a traumatic moment in their history - the Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520 - they set off on a two century rampage fuelled by religion and military skill. This reached a crazy crescendo when - like Napoleon and Hitler - King Charles XII of Sweden took on the Russians in what some have described as a defensive war. The Swedes don't talk much about this period today.With brilliant contributions from Erika Sandstrom, Gunnar Wetterberg, Peter Wilson, Anna Toon, Michael Pye and Ulf Zander.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

The Swedes are very proud that they have not fought in a war since 1814, but they have not always been the knitwear pacifists they are today. Following a traumatic moment in their history - the Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520 - they set off on a two century rampage fuelled by religion and military skill. This reached a crazy crescendo when - like Napoleon and Hitler - King Charles XII of Sweden took on the Russians in what some have described as a defensive war. The Swedes don't talk much about this period today.With brilliant contributions from Erika Sandstrom, Gunnar Wetterberg, Peter Wilson, Anna Toon, Michael Pye and Ulf Zander.The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

In a brief September window, Misha Glenny and Miles Warde flew into Copenhagen to begin work on a new Invention of ... series. The plan - find out why Denmark, Sweden and Norway had responded to the pandemic in such different ways. Denmark was one of the first countries in Europe to lock down. Sweden famously took another route. This is the ninth Invention series, and the aim is to understand what these three countries are - their people, the borders, the stories they tell themselves. Can history explain what is happening now? With contributions from the novelists Dorthe Nors, Linn Ullman, and Carsten Jensen; historians Erika Sandstrom, Ulf Zander and Gunnar Wetterberg; tour guide and journalist Anna Toon; and author Michael Booth, author of The Almost Nearly Perfect People - Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia.Presenter Misha Glenny is an award-winning reporter and author of McMafiaThe producer for BBC Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde

In a brief September window, Misha Glenny and Miles Warde flew into Copenhagen to begin work on a new Invention of ... series. The plan - find out why Denmark, Sweden and Norway had responded to the pandemic in such different ways. Denmark was one of the first countries in Europe to lock down. Sweden famously took another route. This is the ninth Invention series, and the aim is to understand what these three countries are - their people, the borders, the stories they tell themselves. Can history explain what is happening now? With contributions from the novelists Dorthe Nors, Linn Ullman, and Carsten Jensen; historians Erika Sandstrom, Ulf Zander and Gunnar Wetterberg; tour guide and journalist Anna Toon; and author Michael Booth, author of The Almost Nearly Perfect People - Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia.Presenter Misha Glenny is an award-winning reporter and author of McMafiaThe producer for BBC Audio in Bristol is Miles Warde

Declan Lawn talks to Micha Glenny about the differences between the north and the south and, in particular, the border.

Dr Joan Redmond talks to Misha Glenny about Ireland, England and the early seeds of war.