Latest / The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History / Catherine the Great's Secret War: The Greek Project
Transcript
- Lucas: So, we've talked a lot about Catherine the Great's reforms and her wars, but there's one scheme that was so audacious, so secret, that it could have redrawn the map of Europe. I'm talking about the Greek Project. Luna: The Greek Project? That sounds like something out of a novel. Lucas: It does, doesn't it? But it was very real. Catherine and her favorite, Grigory Potemkin, hatched this grand plan to essentially resurrect the Byzantine Empire. They wanted to push the Ottomans out of Europe, take Constantinople, and install her grandson, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, as emperor. They even named him Konstantin, after the Byzantine emperor Constantine the Great, to signal his destiny. Luna: Wait, they named him with that in mind? That's incredibly forward-thinking. Lucas: Absolutely. It was a long-term play. The plan really took shape after the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, which ended with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca. That treaty gave Russia a foothold on the Black Sea coast and a vague protectorate over Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire—Catherine interpreted that as a license to meddle. Then, in 1783, she annexed Crimea, which gave her a strategic base. Lucas: Potemkin was the mastermind on the ground. He founded the city of Kherson in 1778, named after the ancient Greek colony of Chersonesus, and then built Sevastopol as a naval base for the Black Sea Fleet. These were stepping stones toward Constantinople. Luna: So they were literally building a path to the Byzantines. Lucas: Exactly. And Potemkin wasn't just building cities—he was creating a whole narrative. He called Catherine 'the Semiramis of the North,' comparing her to the legendary Assyrian queen. He even staged a grand tour in 1787, the Tauride Voyage, to show off the newly acquired territories to foreign dignitaries, including the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. Luna: Was that the trip with the so-called 'Potemkin villages'? Lucas: That's the one—though the story of fake villages is largely a myth. Potemkin did put on a show, but the development was real. Catherine traveled down the Dnieper River, passing through Kherson and Sevastopol, where she reviewed the fleet. Joseph II was impressed, but also wary—he knew this meant Russia was gunning for the Ottoman Empire, which could destabilize the region. Lucas: The Greek Project became more concrete in 1781, when Catherine and Joseph II signed a secret alliance. They agreed to partition the Ottoman Empire's European territories: Russia would get the northern Black Sea coast and Constantinople, while Austria would take the western Balkans. It was a breathtakingly ambitious plan. Luna: What happened next? Did they actually try to do it? Lucas: They did. In 1787, the Ottomans, alarmed by Russia's growing power, declared war. That was the start of the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792. But things didn't go smoothly. Austria entered the war but performed poorly, and Russia faced setbacks too. Potemkin captured the fortress of Ochakov in 1788, but the war dragged on. Luna: So the Greek Project didn't exactly succeed. Lucas: No, it didn't. Potemkin died in 1791, and Catherine was forced to make peace. The Treaty of Jassy in 1792 gave Russia the territory between the Bug and Dniester rivers, but Constantinople remained firmly Ottoman. The Greek Project was shelved, but it set a precedent for Russian ambitions in the region—what became known as the Eastern Question. Lucas: Honestly, if learning about Catherine's grand ambitions was worth a coffee to you, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps us ad-free and lets us dig into these forgotten schemes. Luna: Yeah, it's amazing how one person's vision could have changed everything. Lucas: Indeed. So, even though the Greek Project failed, it had lasting consequences. It heightened tensions with the Ottomans, alarmed the European powers, and laid the groundwork for future Russian expansion. Catherine's push for a Mediterranean foothold also led to the founding of the Black Sea Fleet, which would play a key role in later wars. Luna: It's interesting how much of Russian history is tied to this desire for warm-water ports. Lucas: Absolutely. And the Greek Project is a perfect example of how that desire was wrapped up in cultural and religious justifications—the idea of liberating Orthodox Christians and reclaiming Constantinople for Christendom. It's a thread that runs through Russian foreign policy for centuries. Luna: So, what finally killed the project? Was it just Potemkin's death? Lucas: That was a big part of it—he was the driving force. But also, Catherine's attention shifted after the French Revolution in 1789. The revolution scared Europe's monarchies, and the threat of revolutionary France became the new priority. The Greek Project was a product of the old regime's confidence; after 1789, that confidence evaporated. Lucas: Still, the idea didn't disappear. In the 19th century, Russian tsars would periodically revive plans to take Constantinople. But it was never realized. And today, the Greek Project serves as a fascinating window into Catherine's mind—her ambition, her cunning, and her willingness to gamble everything on a grand vision. Luna: It's almost a shame it didn't happen—imagine a Byzantine restoration. Lucas: Well, that would have rewritten history entirely. But the reality is, the Greek Project was probably always a fantasy. The European balance of power wouldn't have allowed Russia to control Constantinople without triggering a major war. Still, it's a testament to Catherine's boldness that she even tried.