From ‘Terrible’ to ‘Great’:

The Rise of the Romanovs

1550-1725

The Romanovs were one of the most extraordinary families in world history, producing a succession of brilliant, yet often dysfunctional rulers, whose whims affected the lives of millions. This programme delves deep into the dynasty’s rise to power from the moment when Anastasia Romanova was plucked from obscurity to become the wife of the Tsar later known as Ivan the Terrible, we trace the remarkable careers and personal traumas of the Romanov Tsars. Larger than life characters like Peter the First, as well as the tragic stories of Mikhail and Fyodor.

This series of 10 lectures delivered by PowerPoint over Zoom, includes various maps, portraits of the family, and stunning colour photography of some of the surviving buildings, charting the rise and fall of one of history's most powerful dynasties and at the same time examines the lives of the often flawed human beings who were part of it. The startling chronicle of Russian history reveals a secret world of conspiracy, family rivalries, decadence and wild extravagance forming a universal study of power that still defines Russia today.

The Programme will broadly follow the outline below:

I. Anastasia Romanova. Beauty and the Beast

II. Fyodor, the Half-Romanov Tsar

III. Fyodor Romanov. The Reluctant Monk

IV. Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov. The Elected Tsar.

V. Alexei: The Quiet Tsar.

VI. Fyodor III. The Underestimated Tsar

VII. Tsarevna Sofia and Ivan V

VIII. Tsar Petrushka or Bombardier Pyotr Alexevich

IX. Peter the Great. Father of the Fatherland

X. Russia turns to the West

Lecture programme dates: Thursday 1 May 2025 - Thursday 29 May 2025. Thursday 5 June 2025, Half-term break/reading week. Thursday 12 June 2025 - Thursday 10 July 2025.

In order to take part in what is bound to be another absorbing and illuminating series of lectures you'll be pleased to know that we have maintained the fee at £20 per head for the course of 10 sessions. The lectures will commence at 2.00pm on Thursday 1 May and continue as per the schedule above. Make yourselves comfortable on Thursday afternoons.

Please make your payments by bank transfer to:

Account name: Sutton Coldfield U3A

Bank sort code: 30-98-37

Account number: 00997760

Important: For clarity, our new Treasurer has requested that payments should include the name of the payer and a short description of the subject, for example LITTLE/844/FOR HIST. This is just in case there are any queries; but, in any case, it is most important that you include the reference 844 with your payment so that it is allocated to the correct subject.

All the best,

Colin Little

For any queries, please use either the contact form below, or contact the organisers directly from within the Members' Only section of the website.