200 Years of British-Russian Relations
Warfare
History Hit
4.5 • 943 Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2022
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Russia and the UK have very different political structures and ambitions, from their alliance at the Battle of Navarino in 1827 to the historic low of their relations now. In this episode of Warfare, James is joined by Lord David Owen, who formerly served as Navy Minister, British foreign secretary, and EU peace negotiator in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. With over two decades of working closely with Russia, Lord Owen takes us through his knowledge of the complex history of dealings.
David Owen is the author of 'Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma: Two Hundred Years of British-Russian Relations' published by Haus Publishing.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Where should we start to look back at the long turbulent history of British-Russian relations? |
| 0:17.0 | Well, according to Lord David Owen, the former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, we should look back to the Battle of Navarina. |
| 0:26.4 | This took place on the 20th of October 1827, when a combined fleet of British, French, and Russian vessels worked together to destroy the Ottoman |
| 0:36.1 | fleet at anchor in Navarino Bay in Greece. |
| 0:40.0 | This battle is notable for many reasons. |
| 0:42.0 | It was the last major engagement involving only |
| 0:44.2 | wooden ships. It was a decisive step towards Greek independence. But it was also, quite remarkably, a key moment in British, Russian political relations as |
| 0:56.6 | politicians looked to distance themselves from this very clear |
| 1:01.8 | British naval victory because it was won in conjunction with the Russians. |
| 1:07.0 | The Russians who the Wellington government thought were trying to mark their own territory in India at the time. There was deep suspicion of the Russians. |
| 1:16.9 | Now I'm your host, James Rogers, and here on the warfare podcast Lord David Owen, |
| 1:22.4 | who served as Navy minister, |
| 1:24.1 | he served as British Foreign Secretary, |
| 1:26.3 | and as EU peace negotiator in the former Yugoslavia |
| 1:30.3 | during the 1990s. |
| 1:31.8 | Well, he is going to take us through this long history of British Russian relations. |
| 1:36.0 | He's the ideal person to do this. |
| 1:38.0 | He's the author of a new book, Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma. 200 years of British Russian relations seems quite |
| 1:46.2 | on the nose and of course during his over two decades in power he spent a lot of |
| 1:52.4 | time working closely with the Russians. Enjoy. |
| 1:57.4 | David, welcome to the warfare podcast. How are you today? |
| 2:01.0 | I'm fine. Looking forward to the discussion. |
... |
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