The Romanovs and the Old Believers: A Dynasty's Religious War

The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History · Jun 29, 2026 · 7m · transcript

In 1652, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon launched a radical reform of Russian Orthodox rituals that sparked a schism—the Raskol—that would haunt the Romanovs for centuries. This episode dives into the brutal suppression of the Old Believers, from the siege of the Solovetsky Monastery (1668–1676) to the fiery self-immolations of Avvakum's followers. We explore how the starovery preserved pre-Nikonian rites, their role in peasant resistance under Peter the Great, and the surprising alliance between Old Believer merchants and the late imperial state under Nicholas II. Featuring…