Latest / The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History / Catherine the Great's Grandson Constantine and the Greek Dream
Transcript
- Lucas: So, we've talked a lot about Catherine the Great — her wars, her reforms, her lovers. But one of her most audacious dreams is something we haven't touched on yet: the Greek Project. Luna: The Greek Project — that sounds like a code name for something huge. Lucas: It was. In the 1780s, Catherine and her favorite, Grigory Potemkin, hatched a plan to resurrect the Byzantine Empire — with her grandson Constantine on the throne in Constantinople. Luna: Wait — she named him Constantine with that in mind? Lucas: Exactly. Constantine Pavlovich was born in 1779, and Catherine deliberately chose that name. It was a statement. She even had him nursed by a Greek wet nurse, surrounded him with Greek-speaking attendants, and commissioned a medal with the Hagia Sophia on one side and the words 'You will see this' on the other. Luna: That's incredible. So from infancy, he was being groomed as a future Byzantine emperor. Lucas: Absolutely. The Greek Project wasn't just a fantasy — it was a coherent geopolitical strategy. Catherine wanted to push the Ottomans out of Europe, liberate the Orthodox Christians, and establish a new Greek state that would be a Russian client. The capital would be Constantinople, renamed Tsargrad, and Constantine would rule it under Russian protection. Lucas: And this was tied to Potemkin's grand plans for New Russia — Novorossiya — the territories Russia had just won along the Black Sea. If you remember from our episode on the Dnipro Flotilla, Potemkin was building ports and cities at Kherson and Sebastopol. Luna: Right — Sebastopol became the base for the Black Sea Fleet. Lucas: Exactly. The fleet was essential for any campaign against Constantinople. And Potemkin was also negotiating with the Crimean Tatars. In 1783, Russia annexed Crimea outright, which gave them the perfect springboard. Catherine could now project power directly into the Black Sea. Lucas: And she didn't hide her ambitions. In 1787, she made a grand trip to the south — the famous 'Potemkin villages' journey — where she inspected the new cities and reviewed the fleet. Joseph II of Austria, her ally, accompanied her. There were triumphal arches with slogans like 'The Road to Byzantium'. Luna: So the other European powers must have been watching nervously. Lucas: They were. Britain and France were alarmed. They didn't want Russia controlling the straits — the Bosporus and Dardanelles — which would give Russia a stranglehold on trade to the Mediterranean. Prussia also opposed it. But Catherine and Potemkin pressed ahead. Lucas: The plan was to launch a two-pronged attack: the Russian army would advance through the Balkans, while the Black Sea Fleet would sail to Constantinople. Potemkin even had a special 'Greek Guard' of soldiers dressed in Byzantine-style uniforms, with the double-headed eagle. Luna: Did they ever actually try to execute it? Lucas: In 1787, the Russo-Turkish War broke out — partly provoked by Russian ambitions. Initially, things went well. Potemkin captured Ochakiv, and Suvorov won a series of stunning victories. But the war dragged on, and Austria made a separate peace. By 1791, Russia had to settle for the Treaty of Jassy, which only confirmed the annexation of Crimea and gave Russia a bit more coastline. Luna: So no Byzantine revival. Lucas: No. Potemkin died in 1791, and Catherine's enthusiasm waned. Her son Paul, who succeeded her in 1796, hated the whole idea. He was more interested in Malta and the Knights Hospitaller than in Greece. And Constantine himself? He turned out to be a difficult, mercurial man — he eventually renounced his right to the Russian throne to marry a Polish countess. Lucas: But the Greek Project left a legacy. It shaped Russian foreign policy for the next century — the Eastern Question, the Crimean War, Pan-Slavism — all of it was influenced by the dream of controlling Constantinople. And the name Constantine kept popping up: in 1915, during World War I, there was talk of giving Constantinople to Russia. Luna: So it never fully died. Lucas: No. It's one of those what-ifs of history. If Potemkin had lived longer, if the war had gone differently, maybe we'd be talking about a restored Byzantine Empire. But as it was, the Greek Project was a spectacular vision that collided with reality. Lucas: And if today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really helps keep us going. Lucas: Anyway, back to the Greek Project. One fascinating detail is that Catherine actually sent emissaries to the Maniots — the fierce Greek warriors of the Peloponnese — promising them support if they rose up against the Ottomans. She even had a Greek admiral, Lambros Katsonis, who operated a privateer fleet in the Aegean. Luna: So there was real groundwork happening. Lucas: Definitely. Katsonis actually captured a few Ottoman islands and held them for a while. But he was ultimately defeated, and Russia abandoned him when diplomacy shifted. The Greek Project was a mix of grand strategy and romantic nationalism — Catherine genuinely believed she was fulfilling a historical destiny. Luna: And Potemkin was the engine behind it all. Lucas: Absolutely. He was the one who built the cities, the fleet, the diplomatic networks. He even designed a new Byzantine order — the Order of Saint George, but with a Greek twist. When he died, the project lost its driving force. Lucas: Catherine outlived him by five years, but she never again attempted anything on that scale. The French Revolution was now the big worry. Still, she never gave up the dream entirely. In her letters, she still referred to Constantine as 'the emperor of the East'. Luna: It's almost sad — all that preparation for something that never happened. Lucas: It is. But in a way, it did happen — just not in the way they imagined. Russia's presence in the Black Sea transformed the region. The cities Potemkin built are still there. And the idea of a Greek state did become reality, though it was a small kingdom, not an empire, and it was created by Britain, France, and Russia together in 1830. Luna: So the Greek Project was a kind of dress rehearsal for the Eastern Question. Lucas: Exactly. It set the template: Russia would use religion and ethnicity to claim influence over the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire. That policy lasted until 1917. And the name Constantine? It echoed down the years — in 1915, the Russian government actually prepared a plan to seize Constantinople, and there was talk of putting Grand Duke Constantine Konstantinovich on the throne. Luna: But that never happened either. Lucas: No. The Bolsheviks came to power, and they had no interest in resurrecting Byzantium. They even gave the Hagia Sophia back to Turkey — well, not back, but they didn't claim it. So the Greek Project finally died in the 20th century. But for a few decades, it was Catherine's great obsession. Luna: It shows how personal the ambitions of an autocrat could be. Lucas: Absolutely. Catherine's personality shaped Russia's destiny. And the Greek Project is a perfect example of how a ruler's dreams can drive history — even when they fail.