The Romanovs and the Great Game in Central Asia

The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History · Sep 14, 2026 · 6m · transcript

While we often look to St. Petersburg for the center of Romanov power, the dynasty’s true strategic anxiety lay thousands of miles away in the steppes of Central Asia. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the Russian Empire transformed from a European monarchy into a continental empire through the brutal, complex process of conquest in Turkestan. We trace the military campaigns led by generals like Mikhail Skobelev and Konstantin von Kaufmann as they dismantled the Khanates of Kokand, Bukhara, and Khiva. You will hear about the infamous Siege of Geok Tepe, the diplomatic chess match…