The Brothels of Imperial Russia
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
04/24/26
•46m
About
Comments
Featured In
In today's episode we're taking you back to the brothels of 19th century St. Petersburg.
Sex work was legalised under the Emperor Nicholas I, but what was life like for sex workers? Why did they have to carry yellow tickets? And why did sex work there differ to the rest of Europe?
Joining Kate today is Dr. Colleen Lucey, Associate Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at the University of Arizona, to take us back to Imperial Russia to find out.
This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Who was the first 'Lesbian'?
April 21
•41m
Was Sappho queer? Or was this Ancient Greek poet just really really good friends with women?
Today on Betwixt the Sheets, Kate is joined by Katherine Horgan to find out how Sappho's poetry has lasted through the centuries, what we can really know about her life, and why she is important in the modern world?
Katherine is researching classical reception in Early Modern English Literature at Harvard, and will be taking on a professorship at Sarah Lawrence later this year.
This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
How Scandalous Were Masquerade Balls?
April 28
•44m
Faces covered, identities unknown - masquerade balls sound like a place of anonymity and, therefore, SCANDAL.
But how true is this in the 18th Century? Could people sneak in unrecognised like they do in Bridgerton? And how much would people be misbehaving inside?
Kate is joined for this particular dance by Dr Meghan Kobza, author of 'Masquerade: Unmasking Georgian London'.
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards! UK & Ireland listeners please place your vote on the Spotify mobile app here: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted