So in today’s episode we’ll be taking another break from the chronological narrative and looking instead at mainly, the last three decades and a bit, at what went on in Russia from a commercial and business perspective.

And to help us through this tumultuous and fascinating period of more recent Russian History we have someone who has spent four decades travelling and working in the Soviet Union and Russia, who speaks fluent Russian, who holds degrees from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania and who, luckily for us, just happens to have written a book.

Zero sum - which brings vividly to life, via meticulous research and through the fascinating and sometimes tragicomic experiences of the people who were there at the time, Russia’s transformation from Soviet dinosaur through proto-capitalist free for all to today’s, difficult to pigeon hole economic situation and how we in the west just never seem, commercially, culturally  or geopolitically, to get it right with Russia.  

Yes today dear listeners we are joined by author, journalist, geopolitical risk consultant and self-professed Russia geek, Charles Hecker 

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In this week’s episode ware going to look at four main items

A short appraisal of Peter’s reign, a longer appraisal of Elizabeth’s time in charge, a look at the recent coup’s winners and losers and then finally, how Catherine and her advisors (well actually, one advisor) explained away the death of her husband.

Oh and there's a heartfealt apology from me regarding a mistake I made last time out....

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A longer than usual episode which provides an overall look at the world in 1762 - just at the point when Catherine was starting her reign in Russia.

Britannia ruled the waves (or was starting to) and the age of enlightenment and the trans-atlantic slave trade were approaching their respective zeniths.

The agrarian and industrial revolutions were just getting underway, and Augustus III of Poland-Lithuania and Saxony had the largest collection of hats and wigs in Europe.

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Whilst the new regime is finalising it's coup, over at Oranienbaum, a blissfully ignorant Peter has just drilled his Holstein guards and is now on his way to Peterhof to celebrate his name day.

But when he get's there, Catherine is of course, nowhere to be seen .

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This time around we’ll be looking at the latest events in the Seven Years War, Peter’s Danish campaign, how becoming Tsar had affected his relationship with his wife Catherine and finally, and as the episode title in a fairly unsubtle way hints at, what Catherine and her allies decided to do about things.

Apologies for the poor pronunciation throughout - there were just too many Schleswigs, Shlisselburgs and Oranienbaums for me to cope with....

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This time around we’ll be looking at the events that unfolded in the years 1761 and 1762 which, as the title suggests, sadly involves the end of the line for the Empress Elizabeth.

But, in an age when Russia had no clearly defined order of succession, much like today, no one was entirely sure what or who would happen next.

For one person though, the change of regime in St Petersburg would represent a long sought after miracle.

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This time around we’ll be covering the years 1759 and 1760.

Years in which the Grand Duchess Catherine and Frederick the Great will be taking stock of their own respective situations and enacting plans to safeguard their own respective futures.

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It's Spring 1758 and Grand Duchess Catherine is attempting to extricate herself from yet another difficult situation.

Meanwhile, over in Prussia, Frederick the Great, despite having just won major battles against the French and the Austrians, is trying to work out how to deal with the enemies that still surround him in every direction.

One of them will get out of their hole, the other will keep on digging.

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This week we’ll be putting the seven years war to one side whilst we concentrate instead on events that took place in Russia during 1757 and 1758 which, in no particular order, include the reasons for, and the political and personal fallout from, that Russian withdrawal, Catherine and Stansislaus’s affair, the Empress Elizabeth’s health and Peter’s pro-Prussian leanings.

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It's 1757 and for the first time in a long time the Russian army gets to flex its muscles.

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