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The Fall of the Soviet Union

The Fall of the Soviet Union is the definitive podcast exploring the collapse of the USSR — one of the most dramatic, consequential, and misunderstood events of the twentieth century. From the stagnation of the Brezhnev era to the final dissolution of a superpower, this show traces the economic failures, political miscalculations, nationalist uprisings, and ideological cracks that brought a mighty empire to its knees. Each episode dives deep into a pivotal moment, policy, or personality, drawing on declassified documents, firsthand accounts, and the latest historical scholarship to reveal what really happened behind the Iron Curtain. Whether you're a history enthusiast, a student of geopolitics, or simply someone trying to understand how the modern world was shaped, this podcast offers the context and clarity you won't find in a textbook. Hosted with rigorous research and compelling storytelling, The Fall of the Soviet Union doesn't just describe what happened — it explains why it had to happen, and what it means for the world we live in today. Subscribe to follow the full story of how the Soviet experiment unraveled, episode by episode.

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Episodes

Latest episodes

29 Jun 2026 · 15 min

The Command Economy's Slow Suffocation: Grain, Guns, and Lies

The Soviet command economy couldn't feed Siberia, hid its grain imports from the West, and spent itself into collapse funding a military it could no longer afford. This episode goes inside the machinery of Soviet failure — the falsified harvests, the quota logic that made bad shoes, and the arms race that ate everything else.
28 Jun 2026 · 18 min

The Stability Trap: How Brezhnev Froze the Soviet Economy

The Soviet collapse didn't begin with Gorbachev — it began with Brezhnev's bargain: stability for the elite in exchange for a system that could never fix itself. This is the story of a command economy that couldn't feed its own people, and the stagnation that made 1991 inevitable.